The Big Blue Treasure Book Tour of America
Reposted from Thus I Have Seen by Zhaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche p.67-127
I again broached the subject of making a tour of the USA to introduce the Buddha to the American people, only this time it would be with the big blue treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (FIGURE 21). There was a lot of support for the idea and the Dharma Propagation Tour was begun. Many wanted to participate, contributing funding, books, silk khatas,25 and other things to make the trip possible. A team that included monastics and lay people was assembled. With the help of students in different parts of the country, we compiled a list of over 2,500 Dharma-related locations in every state and representative of all the major sects. We first sent a letter to these places telling them that we would either be sending them a copy of the treasure book or we would be visiting them while on the tour and giving them a copy at that time. We arranged to visit all fifty states to make public presentations at over seventy locations.
I had another motivation for the trip and criteria for selecting certain stops on the trip. Ever since I had learned that my Buddha Master was a Buddha, I felt we should erect a stupa to commemorate that fact and His coming to America. Unfortunately, I knew very little about stupas. In fact, I had never even seen a stupa. So, I researched where there were stupas in America and plotted our tour to be able to visit and pay our respects at as many as possible.xxxx
I had another motivation for the trip and criteria for selecting certain stops on the trip. Ever since I had learned that my Buddha Master was a Buddha, I felt we should erect a stupa to commemorate that fact and His coming to America. Unfortunately, I knew very little about stupas. In fact, I had never even seen a stupa. So, I researched where there were stupas in America and plotted our tour to be able to visit and pay our respects at as many as possible.xxx
I had another motivation for the trip and criteria for selecting certain stops on the trip. Ever since I had learned that my Buddha Master was a Buddha, I felt we should erect a stupa to commemorate that fact and His coming to America. Unfortunately, I knew very little about stupas. In fact, I had never even seen a stupa. So, I researched where there were stupas in America and plotted our tour to be able to visit and pay our respects at as many as possible.
The Dharma Propagation Tour of the USA unofficially began in March 2008 when Bodi Wentu Rinpoche and I first went to the nation’s capitol to brief certain congressional staff members on the treasure book and introduce them to the Buddha. I knew this would be an auspicious event when I saw a great Dharma protector watching us as we prepared to leave the condo where we were staying in Maryland to go on to Capitol Hill and do our work explaining how an ancient Buddha had come from another realm—another dimension—to help relieve the suffering of living beings.
Earlier that morning there had been bright lights flashing in my room, just like I reported earlier when “What Is Cultivation?” was first transmitted by the Buddha Master. Now there was a large red transparent figure moving through the trees in the wooded area across from the condo. We were being watched and protected so that we could carry out this important mission. I kept thinking that this was such an auspicious start for our effort to let America know that we have a very great holy one living in our midst.
FIGURE 21: H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III: A Treasury of True Buddha-Dharma, a book that explains who has recognized this holy being as the supreme Buddha and why, establishes thirty categories of accomplishments in the Five Vidyas, and includes two sutras on cultivation and realizing definitive truth.
FIGURE 22: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who spoke at the Library of Congress cere mony, talks to Disciple Denma Tsemang II Longzhi Tanpe Nyima Rinpoche, Washington, D.C. this was such an auspicious start for our effort to let America know that we have a very great holy one living in our midst.
Honorable Tom Lantos, California Congressman and the late chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, had sponsored a tribute to Master Wan Ko Yee in the House of Representatives in September 2007 and arranged for us to use the formal and elegant member’s meeting room at the Library of Congress for our presentation to members of Congress, the Diplomatic Corps, Dharma kings and rinpoches from around the world, and other monastic and lay Buddhists. We unveiled the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and told those present about the accomplishments of this holy Buddha and how the Buddha had been recognized by the leading Buddhists in the world at a presentation at the Library in April 2008. Disciple Denma Tsemang II Longzhi Tanpe Nyima Rinpoche, secretary to the Buddha, and Ven. Long Hui Shi, Chairperson of the International Buddhism Sangha Association, formally presented the book to Dr. Judy S. Lu, Chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress of the United States. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and other dignitaries spoke at the ceremony (FIGURE 22).
The Dharma Propagation Tour to all fifty U.S. States formally began on June 21, 2008 at Hua Zang Si, a Buddhist Temple located in San Francisco, California, with a Grand Assembly honoring the treasure book, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. When the banner announcing the event was erected over the entrance to the temple, beautiful Buddha-lights could be seen all over the city, across the bay, and even as far away as Davis, California. This beautiful rainbow encircling the sun was visible in a clear sky with no sign of rain or rain clouds. These Buddha-lights are often visible around the sun or moon whenever there are events associated with H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and other holy beings. This was but the beginning of the auspicious signs and events that accompanied us on the tour.
I have seen these Buddha lights so frequently that they do not seem unusual, but I am still in awe of their beauty. These magical lights can appear around either the sun or the moon or sometimes on clouds. In the entire sixty years before I met my Buddha Master, I saw what is commonly referred to as “sun dogs” or parhelia three times. Two were just auspicious occasions and one was when the body of a Tibetan Rinpoche was cremated under the watchful eye of H.H. Dilgo Khyentse. Since I have been following H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, I have seen dozens of these rainbows. Furthermore, none of the earlier events were as vast or as colorful as the ones I have seen since following my Buddha Master. The Buddha-light shown in FIGURE 8 was the biggest I had seen up to that time and it lasted for many hours. I must admit I did not notice the red robed being sitting in the halo of that Buddha-light until my Buddha Master pointed it out. Of course, I could see Him then, although sometimes He appears to be visible and sometimes, He does not appear to be there. Also, some people can see Him and some cannot. This phenomenon was part of an even more mysterious series of events that I will explain later.
FIGURE 23 Snow Lions and Dragons came to dance in the street in front of the temple at the auspicious Grand Assembly to honor the release of the Big Blue Treasure Book at Hua Zang Si in San Francisco, California.
Before the tour could begin, however, the treasure book had to be officially presented at this Grand Assembly at Hua Zang Si, our main temple in San Francisco. Prior to the start of the Grand Assembly, Chinese music was played in the barricaded street and snow lions danced to welcome the official arrival of the treasure book at the temple (FIGURE 23). Flowers from well-wishers lined the street outside the temple for the Grand Assembly to honor the release of this book. (FIGURE 24) Many Dharma kings, venerable ones, rinpoches, Dharma masters and lay men and women attended the dignified formal ceremony that followed. After the treasure book was received and congratulatory speeches given by temple officials and local dignitaries, I addressed the group and told them of the forth coming Dharma Propagation Tour to introduce the book to all fifty states.
FIGURE 24: Flowers from well-wishers lined the street outside the temple for the Grand Assembly to honor the treasure book.
FIGURE 25: Magnolia Tree that rained Holy Nectar at Hua Zang Si in San Francisco after the Grand Assembly. Nectar has rained through that tree both when it had leaves and before its leaves came out. The rain does not come from or even touch the tree.
No sooner had I finished talking and the group started to assemble outdoors in the courtyard of the temple, when I heard much shouting and could make out the words, “It’s raining nectar!” Sure enough, fragrant and sweet holy nectar could be seen, felt, smelled, and tasted under the holy magnolia tree in the courtyard (FIGURE 25).
Now the magnolia tree from southern California was the site of nectar rain again in San Francisco and this time on many people. There was a jubilant commotion in the courtyard with hundreds of excited people trying to get a taste of the nectar when it was then announced that it was also raining nectar under the tree in front of the temple. It was as if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas wanted even more of us to partake in the blessings. The crowded courtyard could not hold the thousand or so people who had attended that Grand Assembly.
Sunday, the next day after the Grand Assembly at Hua Zang Si, we met in the temple to complete our plans for the tour. When we left, someone noticed that nectar was once again raining under the tree in front of the temple. Hands went up to catch the precious dew. I am not certain if it was also raining in the courtyard or not, but I understood it continued to rain the blessed nectar for some time. There is also a film documenting this whole event. Everyone was happy to receive so many blessings and experience the blessings of the true Buddha Dharma.
However, Sunday afternoon, immediately following this joyous event, I became quite ill. It is not uncommon for karmic conditions to ripen or demonic obstructions to arise when one is taking on a major Dharma activity. I knew something serious was happening and wanted to get back to southern California as soon as possible.
Several of my students volunteered to drive me back. I did not let them know just how bad I was feeling because I did not want them to worry and if they had driven me to Pasadena, they would need to turn around and make the return trip, yet that night, in order to be at their jobs the following Monday morning. I asked them to just put me on a plane, but secretly I was very glad for their support and presence.
When I got up the next morning in Pasadena, I had major problems. The right side of my body was numb, and my voice was slurred. It was difficult to even put a sentence together. When I tried to walk, I found myself staggering. My dear roommate, Akou Lamo Rinpoche, and another vajra sister drove me to the emergency room. It looked like a stroke and the good folks at the hospital responded accordingly. However, they could find nothing. When my Buddha Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, heard I was in the hospital, the Buddha told my vajra brothers and sisters that I had indeed had a stroke and also that the medical doctors would not be able to find anything, which was indeed exactly what happened. The Buddha also told them to get me to the Buddha’s mandala as soon as possible. Jue Hui Fa Shih, one of the abbots at Hua Zang Si, came and got me as I wasn’t able to drive. Once there, my compassionate Buddha Master performed certain rituals whereby the Buddha transferred a little of the Buddha’s energy to me and gave me a longevity empowerment. I could tell I was healed, but I was still pretty weak. After a couple of days of rest, I felt fine. The Buddha had saved my life one other time before, so I was quite certain that this problem would be solved, and this would not delay the tour.
On the other occasion I found that I was losing my life force. I was slowly becoming weaker and weaker and my body was growing colder and colder. The Buddha had promised to cure me so that I was not too worried, but I did find it increasingly difficult to even function. I knew that my Buddha Master was very busy, so I did not want to bother the Buddha by reminding the Buddha of His promise. One night when I reported that I needed to go home to rest, the Buddha looked up at me and told me to stay. I did, while my Buddha Master went into the next room. When the Buddha returned, He told the group who then gathered around me something in Chinese that caused them to be very serious. Since I did not understand what was said, I was not concerned as the Buddha was quite jovial and laughing. He then performed the ritual that saved my life. What the Buddha had told the others was that my chakras were shutting down and unless He intervened, I was a goner. They should be prepared to notify my next of kin and arrange for my funeral. After I received a little of His energy I recovered, but it took several days to do so. My body felt as if I had been run over by a semi. Every cell in my body ached. The shock of all that energy was so intense, but it did the job and my body temperature returned to normal and I was okay. Once again, I was intimately aware of just how magnificent my Buddha Master is.
The treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III could now officially be distributed. Copies were both hand-delivered and mailed to temples and Dharma centers, public libraries, and other locations. The Dharma Propagation Team would distribute other copies as we did presentations across the country. The team started in southern California since our first presentations would be in that area. Thousands of copies were distributed with copies being hand delivered or mailed to the governors and state libraries of all fifty states. Our first presentation was at the annex of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore on Melrose in West Hollywood on July 6, 2008. This was an auspicious place to begin in as much as there was a large Bodhi tree behind the bookstore, just like the one that Shakyamuni Buddha had sat beneath over 2,500 years ago. I had been a little apprehensive about following the formal protocols of the Dharma at the beginning and end of these presentations like I normally do when conducting Dharma classes. After all, there would be all types of people there. Some who understood what bowing meant and why we always dedicated the merit of what we did, but there would be some who would find this quite strange and foreign. If it seemed necessary, I explained why we did those things. I am ashamed to admit these doubts, because my fears were unfounded. Oh, there were a few who couldn’t bring themselves to bow or dedicate merit, but I honestly believe that most of those present were very comfortable with the concepts. Perhaps it was because they realized what an extraordinary event this was. A Buddha really had come to this earth and they just intuitively knew what to do to show the proper respect, no matter what they thought of the religion. There were even participants who went up to the altar after the presentation and did more prostrations and offered prayers.
In addition to introducing the Buddha, I also introduced His Dharma by presenting the principles and concepts contained in the treasure book as “What Is Cultivation?” I explained the Eight Fundamental Right Views that were required and the order in which they needed to be practiced. You needed to understand impermanence to have correct motivation; develop a firm belief to have sufficient determination; follow with renunciation that forms the causes of liberation; thus enabling you to take true vows that ensure correct action; with the diligence that guarantees success; take precepts to provide correct direction; practice meditation to achieve wisdom and insight; and finally develop the bodhichitta that enables you to become a holy person or Bodhisattva and eventually a Buddha.
The original schedule was to continue to San Diego and then go up the coast to Santa Barbara and through central and northern California and on to the Pacific Northwest and down through Idaho and Utah to the Rocky Mountains and then head east. We would come back through the south in late October, November, and December. I wanted to be in the mountains during the heat of summer and make New England in time for fall. I did not want us to take our fifteen-passenger van through the mountain passes in the snow. We had delayed the trip almost a month to allow for the June ceremony at Hua Zang Si, but with this schedule there was still time to complete the tour this season.
However, after only two presentations and those from my home base in Pasadena, I was exhausted. Obviously, I was doing something wrong. I would like to tell you that I followed the advice I gave everyone else and changed my ways and was wonderful and on my way, but it was more difficult than that. Hearing the Dharma, understanding the Dharma, and even bringing others to the Dharma are one thing, but actually practicing the Dharma yourself is not so easy. Things were wonderful and many marvelous blessings happened, but that was due to the blessings of my Buddha Master and the importance of this mission, not my leadership. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were with us in spite of my negativity and poor self-cultivation. What made this trip so successful was attributable to the incredible compassion and kindness of many people and the blessings of holy beings. It was certainly no reflection on my abilities or accomplishments. In fact, my karmic obstacles continued through most of the tour and they continue to plague me. Life in samsara still bears the suffering of illness, pain, and death. Only when we can escape this realm can we be free.
I was very worried about going on what I was certain would be a stressful trip, traveling to so many states and giving so many talks over a short period of time. It would be intense! I was also uncomfortable with the entourage that was to accompany me. There was a lot acrimony and hard feelings and mistrust between several of the team members that I anticipated would make the trip even more stressful. Unfortunately, I was right.
More than once there were team members who wanted to leave the tour because they could not take the stress or endure the perceived insults. Each time they were told they could go, but that the person whom they did not get along with would have to leave as well. That was pretty much a bluff on my part because I knew we needed everyone, but it worked for most of the trip. All of the team were dedicated to propagating the Dharma and absolutely loyal to the Buddha. The thought that the trip might be jeopardized by their inability to cope helped them to try harder. Individuals brought their own personal problems with them and that contributed to the stress as well. However, this had to be a most awesome opportunity for practice. I needed to be very grateful first to my Buddha Master for blessing us and giving us the reason for taking the trip in the first place, then to all the individuals and groups who helped underwrite the cost of the trip and supported us in so many ways, and finally to the other team members who were going to give me so many opportunities to practice the Dharma.
Now I was having serious and sudden pains in my chest. Being close to seventy years old, I paid attention to them. As the chest pains got worse, I was uncertain if I could or should take this trip after all. My doctor wanted me to go back into the hospital for a complete cardiac check out. Additionally, because of my health problems, there were many things that I had not been able to do to prepare for the trip that still needed to be done. Frankly, some of the members of the team were not much help—or at least I was not able to get them to help. Several of the team seemed to have their own agendas and were pretty clueless about taking on responsibility for what I had hoped would be their portion of the tour. Perhaps I just didn’t have the energy to give them clearer instructions and they lacked the ability to know what to do on their own. Other team members were great and handled their assigned areas very well. At the last minute there were two more people added to the team who were invaluable. That made a big difference, but I still had the chest pains to deal with. So, the weekend before we were to leave the following week, I checked in at the palatial Huntington Hospital in Pasadena—the second time in a little over a month—and not at all sure that the trip would proceed.
Just before I went back to the hospital, I learned that there would be a very high-level initiation, a Vajra-Bodhi Seed Empowerment for which I would need to prepare. My roommate came to the hospital to help me prepare. On Sunday I was released with a clean bill of health. My heart was just fine—better than normal even. A few of the Buddha’s more senior disciples gathered to receive the first phase of the Vajra-Bodhi Seed Empowerment. It was a very special initiation that would plant the holy seed that guarantees one’s accomplishment if, and only if, one keeps the vajra precepts. In strictest secrecy, we each selected either a vajra seed or a bodhi seed from a concealed container. There were an equal number of each type of seed. What was so amazing about this ceremony was the fact that the Buddha correctly predicted who had received which type of seed even though there was no way that the Buddha could have known that by ordinary means. This is one of the great Dharmas from The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation. We not only received the empowerment, but also received a supply of precious and holy pills made from those used in the ceremony that we could pass on to those with whom we had a special karmic affinity. Once living beings (not just human beings) received such a pill, it was guaranteed that they would become an accomplished Buddhist in this life or at least have the opportunity to do so in their next life. I distributed several of these bright blue pills to not only my students, but others whom I met on the trip including a few members of the animal realm. I have continued to give these tiny pills to all who want them and more for their animal friends.
It had been predicted that a memorable event would occur during this ceremony. Sure enough, just before we gathered to enter the mandala of the Buddha there was such an event. It was just as the Buddha said it would be. A powerful earthquake struck to the east of where we were, and we felt it.
The empowerment gave me the energy to begin and we were on our way to Las Vegas as called for in our revised plans. We would need to postpone the North-West part of our trip, but we could still make New England by Fall and return through the south before the end of the year.
Deserts and Mountains
I remembered passing through the desert twenty-five or so years earlier and stopping near the Mojave National Preserve on I-40 on my way to Questa, New Mexico. I pulled into a roadside rest stop and took a brief nap under a pepper tree. I always traveled with a pillow and blanket as I had become increasingly prone to stop for naps when I drove. As I woke up from my nap, the light beings revisited me as before in Mexico, only this time I was able to communicate with the pepper tree I had been sleeping under. In fact, I could communicate with anyone, anywhere in the universe, or so it seemed. It was part of the initiation process and a very special sort of supernatural state. I was aware of the possibility of such altered states of consciousness and that other states of existence or realms actually existed and I could go there. At that time, I had no idea how you achieve that state or that this was one of the six supernormal powers that holy beings have. These supernormal experiences appeared to be random occurrences and, I found out, the result of spiritual work I had done in learning and practicing the Dharma in past lives. It had to be. I certainly was not living in accord with the Dharma at that time. But my good karma was maturing.
We were anticipating hot weather—really, really hot weather for this part of the tour. When I had been in Las Vegas in March for a weekend intensive, I was told horror stories about Las Vegas in the summer—steering wheels so hot you had to wear gloves to drive; people sleeping during the day and doing their shopping and errands at night when it was cooler; and so forth. This was mid-August. But we were lucky. Or was it something else? We had near perfect weather for the entire trip. Except when we got the tail end of a couple of hurricanes, a tornado that missed us, and some dramatic hail and thunderstorms that were more drama than inconvenience, the weather could not have been better. We were truly blessed.
While in Las Vegas, I explained at a public meeting the importance of Dorje Chang Buddha in all the various traditions of Buddhism and answered questions about esoteric Buddhism to representatives of many of the local Buddhist groups and others. I stressed the importance of learning the fundamental teachings of the Buddha that are common to all forms of practice prior to receiving the secret esoteric practices.
I also talked about how when one follows the correct Dharma one receives the blessings of holy beings who will guide one in one’s practice. When the photos of the pictures of the event were reviewed, there were mandalas or orbs everywhere. It was as if holy beings from another realm had come to listen to the Dharma and bless those present. This phenomenon continued to appear at many of the places where we presented the treasure book or when I gave a presentation about H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and His teachings.
This was the fourth or fifth time I had seen such phenomena. The first time was a few years earlier in San Diego when a large mandala appeared over my head and a smaller one over my left hand which I use in healing and where I always wear my rosary or mala. This was in a photo taken while I was having dinner with other healers. The second time I actually saw them while in the mountains back of Pasadena. I had taken a short nap in my car prior to driving home and as I woke up, I saw two of them in the car. The third time they appeared in photos taken by one of my students. I had asked my Buddha Master about this. The Buddha seemed pleased to hear of them and said that some of them were probably Dharma Wheel Mandalas, the Buddha also told me that they were just phenomena and not to give them too much consideration or become attached to them. Another vajra brother said this sort of phenomenon was really quite common. I’d forgotten, I had also seen many of these magical orbs on photos of rinpoches in Tibet. Another of my students told me later on the trip that when he was visiting the holy pilgrimage sites in India and Nepal, many of his photos exhibited these phenomena as well.
For my visit to Colorado, I had the International Buddhist Sangha Association send a copy of the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to the USAF Academy Cadet Chapel. I wanted to see if they had received the book and what sort of Buddhist program they had at the Academy and how we might fit into that program. When we visited the Academy, we were also able—quite by accident— to present a copy of the treasure book to the wing commander of the Community Chapel for their interfaith library. This was one of the many serendipitous events whereby we set out to do one thing, got lost and found something quite wonderful in the process. The campus of the Academy is quite extensive and although the Cadet Chapel is visible from many vantage points and quite unique, it is not so easy to access. Many of the original roads had been blocked and the maps had not been changed to reflect these adjustments. So, we were hopelessly lost and when we asked a jogging officer, he sent us to the wrong chapel, the Community Chapel for the officers and staff and not the famous Cadet Chapel that we were looking for. Once there we were most fortunate to meet Assistant Chaplain Matthew Jones who just happened to be a very fine young Buddhist from Texas. He knew all about the Buddhist program at the academy and wanted us to meet his commanding officer to whom we gave a second copy of the treasure book. In fact, Chaplain Jones wanted us to stay and attend the service that they were having that evening at 6:30. We declined as we were on a tight schedule and needed to reach the Unitarian Church in Colorado Springs to make arrangements for the next night’s presentation. We did visit the famous Cadet Chapel before we left for our next stop (FIGURE 26).
FIGURE 26: Tour Team leaving the famous Cadet’s Chapel at the USAF Academy.
In Colorado, some of the team visited the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at the Shambhala Mountain Center near Red Feather. The 108-foot monument to the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the largest stupa that the group visited (FIGURE 27). Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was one of the first lamas to popularize the Tibetan form of vajrayana teachings in America. The nun Zhengxiang Shi had a bright pink pillar of light appear intermittently in a video she took of this stupa that was similar to those we saw at the Xuanfa Institute and elsewhere.
FIGURE 27: The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at the Shambhala Mountain Center. This bright neon pink pillar of light appeared intermittently in a video taken of this stupa at Red Feather, Colorado by the nun Zhengxiang Shi. Similar phenomena were also seen at the Xuanfa Institute when I returned to California from the Book Tour and also at gatherings at the home of my Buddha Master.
The Dharma Propagation Tour had crossed the desert and the continental divide and been blessed with many auspicious signs. We had visited three state capitols—Salt Lake City, Denver, and Cheyenne—and the major cities in the region like Las Vegas. It was now time to follow the scenic Arkansas River into the wilderness and cross the spectacular Sangre de Cristo Mountains into the headwaters of the Rio Grande. This was believed to be one of the most spiritual places in America. It is said that dragons still roam freely in these mountains and earth spirits can sometimes be seen even by ordinary people. How would the local earth spirits, dragons, and devas respond to the good news that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III had incarnated to help living beings in their evolution to higher levels of existence and in the elimination of their suffering? Afterall, earth spirits, dragons, and devas were living beings and spiritually evolving, too.
The Rio Grande Valley
One of the most intensely spiritual areas that we encountered on the tour was along the Rio Grande River in Colorado and New Mexico. More than a third of the major stupas that we visited in America were in that area. We experienced more supernormal phenomena in that area than anywhere else and had some of our best responses to the teachings. Some traveled several hours to hear the presentation a second time. There were those who immediately felt the karmic affinity to the practice and wanted to take refuge. Out of this leg of the tour the Taos Xiuxing Institute took form and came into being as a Dharma center to help others learn about the practice and to start their cultivation according to the teachings of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
We entered the headwaters of the Rio Grande located in the San Luis Valley, an area between the Continental Divide and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, at the beginning of our tour and came back up the Rio Grande River several months later when we returned to the west coast through El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
It should not be surprising that this area was so special. Crestone, Colorado, is after all one of the most sacred settings in America. The Hopi, the Navajo, the Ute, the Apache, the Pueblo Indians, and other native tribes have all considered the San Luis Valley, where Crestone is located, as holy land. Buddhist leaders have likewise recognized the spiritual power of this place and erected stupas and built retreat centers here. The San Luis Valley sitting at a little over 7,000 feet elevation and surrounded by over 12,000-foot peaks serves as the beginning of the Rio Grande River that flows south through New Mexico and forms the southern border of Texas and the US as it meanders eastward to the Gulf of Mexico. We stayed at the White Eagle Village just outside of the tiny village of Crestone where the clouds were so close you could almost touch them. The clouds did touch the mountaintops and often obscured the Sangre de Cristo peaks. It snowed in the mountains while we were there in August.
An old self-proclaimed Druid, looking as old as the hills and just as tough, whom we met at a local coffeehouse over breakfast, told us that there would be months of temperatures in the double digits below zero. This same wizened character and the entourage that seemed to gather for his sage advice also told us about a local dragon and other earth spirits who could often be seen around 4:00 am dancing in the mountains. Suspecting that this just might be tales fabricated for naive tourists, some of us were still curious enough to get up early and go up on the roof of the lodge to meditate and wait for a glimpse. The energy was so intense and the place so magical that anything seemed possible. I don’t think any of us saw a dragon, but there were some pretty mysterious lights that appeared about that time of day that didn’t seem to have any “normal” cause. I saw both red and yellow lights and another team member saw other lights from a different location that could not be explained by anything we understood. Perhaps it was the dancing dragon.
There are many types of dragons, such as heavenly dragons, water dragons, spirit dragons, etc. They are all called dragons. They are different from humans in as much as dragons, unlike most humans, can exist in different realms. Heavenly or celestial dragons belong to the heaven realm, while spirit dragons (nagas) belong to the Naga Palace located under the ocean. There are also Dharma protecting dragon spirit-beings. Dragons are divided into beneficent and malicious types. The beneficent type is a spirit-being. The malicious type is an evil spirit. This is how they are primarily categorized. Those dragons who are at a lower level, for example, have just started to practice. They are not developed yet. These are the evil ones. Actually, some dragons can also be categorized as part of the animal realm.
It was to the nagas or spirit dragons that Shakyamuni Buddha entrusted the great prajnaparamita teachings when he gave them on Vulture Peak and predicted that Nagarjuna would incarnate to retrieve these teachings about five hundred years after the Buddha left this world. Nagarjuna was a famous Indian Dharma king from the first or second to third centuries. He founded the Madhyamaka School. He was one of the “seventeen great panditas” of ancient India. He wrote the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way that is still one of the classic commentaries studied in Buddhist monasteries. He is often portrayed with a halo of snakes, symbolizing the nagas from whom he obtained the great Prajnaparamita Sutras. There are other accounts in the sutras and literature of the East where nagas are mentioned as protectors of the Dharma or the Buddha. For example, the naga king, Mucalinda, came and protected the Buddha by spreading his body over the Buddha’s head when a thunderstorm broke out while the Buddha was meditating in Bodhgaya. The statues and paintings that show what appears to be a giant cobra poised over the Buddha are actually of Mucalinda. The Buddhist temples of Cambodia and Thailand are filled with statues and images of guardian nagas. We visited such a statue at a Cambodian temple in Fresno later in the trip. FIGURE 4 (page 23) is a photo of a guardian stone at the entrance to the famous Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Sri Lanka that contains an image of a naga protecting a devic being.
Many of my students and other vajra brothers and sisters once boarded two large boats and went out to sea off the coast of southern California to witness a ceremony performed for a certain disciple to beseech the blessings and assistance of the nagas to raise the consciousness of the disciple’s parents. At that time a request printed on yellow cloth was lowered into the ocean and, after the appropriate chanting and rituals, was raised back up with a message from the nagas granting part of the request. The printing on the cloth had actually changed while it was underwater. I remember that this rinpoche carried this request with her for several days. I was told she even slept with it, never being separated from its message.
Many of the close disciples of the Buddha were able to have the consciousness or souls of family members raised to higher levels. The Buddha did this for my parents who had passed on some years earlier and for an aunt and uncle who left this world while I was with the Buddha. So much of our practice involves developing deep compassion for all living beings. We start seeing everyone as our mother or our parents and contemplating how they sacrificed their lives for us, loved us, worked long hours and very hard to support us and take care of us. Then we consider the fact that all beings have at some time been our parents. Thinking in this way, we develop our bodhichitta and intense motivation to quickly become enlightened so that we can help them. We really do want to help all our relatives—all living beings.26
Mountain-range dragon spirit-beings, like the one here in the Sangre de Cristo range belong to the ghost realms, but they belong to a higher rank within the ghost realms than what we normally think of as ghosts. I had encountered such a being once before when I was living at a retreat center in the Appalachian Mountains. This dragon told me she was a female dragon and that I could call her Happy since she lived on Hap Mountain, but that wasn’t her real name. I could not see her at her home, but a clairvoyant friend whom I took to the site where Happy lived could. You could certainly feel her presence and I was able to communicate with her in my shamanic journeys. I was drawn to the place because there were ancient ruins of mounds constructed on the site by indigenous people who were no doubt aware of the dragon. In fact, my clairvoyant friend also saw the spirits of ancient Native Americans guarding the site and when I was able to communicate with them, I learned that they were from a pre-Cherokee tribe that had lived in the area a very long time ago. The site was near where a co-worker lived. He was part Cherokee and completely freaked out about the site and would not venture near it because of its intense spiritual energy.
FIGURE 28: Column of rain and hail that preceded us to Crestone, Colorado. Maybe it was sent by the Dakinis?
In the West, we felt we needed to slay our dragons and are thus deprived of their power, but in these remote areas they do still exist. In China they were revered and thought to hold both great celestial and earthly power. Only the emperor could wear images of the five-clawed imperial dragon. Anyone else would be put to death. Perhaps as Buddhism takes root in the West, we will find ways to elicit the support and blessings of these powerful beings. Dreamwork’s movie “How to Train Your Dragon” is a start in popular culture. Perhaps this wish is part of the reason the dragon Dharma Protectors later came to the Xuanfa Institute and participated in the filming of the video about the Institute. We have heard their roar at ceremonies and empowerments many times and I heard them when I attended a sweat lodge with my father, except, the Native Americans present called them Thunder Beings.
Throughout this trip, we encountered representatives from other realms that wanted to hear the Dharma. When we first came to Crestone we were dramatically greeted by a pillar of rain and hail that preceded us to White Eagle Village (FIGURE 28). We could see the rain and hail in the distance, but it moved with us and was always just ahead of us, like it was leading us to our destination. It was very strange and awesome. When we arrived at the lodge there were hailstones piled up everywhere. The owner of the lodge told us that this was the dakinis27 welcoming us and that the dakinis had been dancing for joy over the news that we were bringing.
These powerful beings knew how magnificent my Buddha Master was and how wonderful it was for all of us that He had returned to this earth. Now, if I could only convey that joy and excitement to others.
Although the spiritual energies and powers were immense, the human interventions in this area certainly exhibited signs of impermanence. In fact, it felt as though the primary energy of the area was not intended for human beings—at least not ordinary human beings. I felt we were impinging on another world and one where we might not be welcomed. It was a “wild” or untamed place. Although many may come here for retreats and/or empowerments, this was not the sort of place where most ordinary people could live year-round. We made offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas at many of the local stupas.
When I explained how and why H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III had come to America to a group at the White Eagle Village, many more of the magical dharma wheel mandalas appeared. A particularly large pink and green mandala appeared over the altar and another in the crowd. Why was this happening? It is true that these colored lights, commonly referred to as “orbs,” do appear on all sorts of photographs in all sorts of situations, but not as frequently or in such vivid colors as we were seeing. Can it be that these are some form of life from another realm that wanted to hear the Dharma and manifested when we were presenting the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III? Were they the souls or consciousness of departed beings from the ghost realm as some thought? Some of these brightly colored lights were no doubt dharma wheel mandalas. However, we knew that we should not pay that much attention to them in as much as they were just another form of illusory phenomena, but their appearance in such frequency and intensity was quite astounding.
FIGURE 29: Tornado on drive from Crestone to Questa, New Mexico. Could this be the Dakinis sending us off?
Thunderclouds, giant hailstones, and tornados accompanied us on the scenic drive from Crestone, Colorado, to Questa, New Mexico (FIGURE 29). Could this have been the work of the local dakinis again? It was certainly spectacular. The first stop was at the beautiful 38-foot Kagyu Mila Guru Stupa just north of Questa. This was one of my favorite stupas that we visited and made offerings to on the trip (FIGURE 30). An amazing red transparent light form appeared on one photograph of the stupa that was actually visible to several of our team members (FIGURE 31). The nun thought she saw a red flag waving when she took the photo, but there was no earthly object anywhere near her at the time. Another team member also saw the red light but was not able to photograph it. The Buddha Master later told us that this was a Dharma shield erected by local Dharma protecting deities. We felt that this was just another example of beings from other dimensions blessing the dissemination of the treasure book and the tour and expressing their joy that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has come to this world and is living in America. It was similar to what I had seen dashing through the trees outside of Washington, DC. Later that night, I explained the genesis of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and how this Buddha has come to America to a gathering of local residents and visitors at the Taos Jewish Center. During the opening ritual for the presentation, a giant dharma wheel mandala appeared on my robe. We showed the group the pictures of some of the nectar that has miraculously manifested during Holy Buddhas Bestowing Nectar Ceremonies conducted by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
FIGURE 30: Making offerings inside the Kagyu Mila Guru Stupa in Questa, New Mexico.
FIGURE 31: Red Dharma Protector Shield at Kagyu Mila Guru Stupa, Questa, New Mexico.
We visited a stupa that was thought to be the first stupa constructed in America. The Khang Tsag Chorten (Stacked House Stupa) is an eight-foot tall, square monument that was built to commemorate the 1972 visit to Santa Fe of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987) and consecrated in October 1973 by H.H. Drodrupchen Rinpoche (1927- ), who is the sole holder of the complete Longchen Nying-thik. Translated as the “Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse,” it represents the highest teachings of the Nyingma sect. In Dodrupchen Rinpoche’s (FIGURE 15 page 54) letter of congratulations to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III about the treasure book he said, “I found the book wonderful and amazing and totally inspiring… [It is a] truly miraculous and extraordinary expression of truth expressed and unexpressed beyond words in Buddha Dharma”. The building was locked when the team arrived, so we were only able to see the stupa from a ladder that was conveniently located on the side of the courtyard containing the stupa.
It is said that this stupa marks the establishment of Tibetan Buddhism in America. An ancient prophecy by Guru Padmasambhava that I quoted earlier predicted that the Dharma would go to the land of the redman when “iron birds fly and horses run on wheels.” Moreover that prophecy also predicted where the Dharma would first be established by the Tibetans: “There would be a round turtle-shaped mountain to the north, high snow-capped mountains to the east (the Sangre de Cristo Range), a stream flowing down a valley to the south (the Rio Grande), and a wide view with red cliffs in the west.” This site fulfilled all those requirements. The turtle mountain is located to the north behind the light beige courtyard and temple that surrounds the stupa. Although the Tibetan Dharma represented the highest teachings that came out of India, they, too, were not complete. As I noted earlier, Shakyamuni Buddha did not transmit all of the Buddha Dharma that He had received because of the karmic conditions of living beings at that time. By the time the Dharma was transmitted to Tibet it already contained some erroneous views and corruption. Even Atisha, Marpa and the other patriarchs of the great Tibetan traditions did not have all the Dharmas or hold entirely correct views.
I knew this, as I had heard the story of how these noble Tibetan Dharma Kings had carried the ancient prophecy concerning the Dharma coming to America. I wondered how we would mark the transmissions that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III would bring. We needed to build a stupa to mark this great event. Perhaps the retreat I was building at Sanger would be the place.
FIGURE 32: Presentation at a former Catholic retreat center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In Albuquerque we were delighted to see the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III prominently displayed at Wat Buddhamongkolnmit, a Thai temple. Several of the monks from that temple came to the public presentation and asked very useful questions. The presentation was held at a former Catholic retreat center. Several people came from Taos to Albuquerque to hear the presentation again. There was an amazing display of dharma wheel mandalas in several of the pictures taken at this presentation (FIGURE 32).
Now it was time to leave the more exotic landscape of the wild west and head toward the Heartland of Middle America. When I had last lived in the Midwest over twenty years earlier, it was still very difficult to find any traces of Buddhism. What would we find now?
The Heartland
We left New Mexico early in the morning and headed east crossing the Texas panhandle and on to Oklahoma City. This was a long driving day. We stopped in Amarillo, Texas, to give a copy of the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to the local public library and went somewhere nearby for lunch. I’m not sure of the town, but I remember us going to a Dairy Queen sort of place that had probably been built as something else. All I really remember was that the place had large plate glass windows. There was a loud thud and suddenly one of the monks ran outside to pick up a small sparrow that had mistaken the window for open space and collided with the glass. The very large lama picked up the tiny dazed bird and held it gently and warmed its limp body until it recovered and flew away.
Oklahoma City has several Buddhist temples that serve the families who have come here from the Southeast Asian countries of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. When we visited Wat Lao Buddharam, a Laotian temple, we again found the book, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III displayed on the main altar of the temple. The abbot of that temple came to the presentation with a translator.
During my presentation at the Wichita Public Library, several residents from Wichita reported seeing beautiful, multicolored rainbows around the full moon for three consecutive nights just prior to our arrival. They had never seen anything like this before. When they heard of the other miraculous events that had accompanied the arrival of the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, they wondered if there might be a connection. I explained just who H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is and why He has come to America and why this is such a most wonderful event for all living beings and, yes, there might be a connection. These sorts of lights have appeared before in conjunction with activities related to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
We visited several Buddhist temples that serve the residents of Wichita, Kansas, including Buu Quang and Chua Phap Hoa from Vietnam, as well as other temples from Cambodia and Laos. Seeing these beautiful temples in the heartland of America and knowing that there were many devout followers of the Blessed Buddha in the middle of America in states like Kansas and Oklahoma made me think how fortunate we were to have His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III living with us. I became even more determined to find ways to spread the good news that the Buddha had brought us on how we can end our suffering and obtain freedom from the pains of birth, sickness, and death. No matter where we went there were people who wanted to learn about the path of the Buddha and how they could follow it.
At our presentations, we showed the group examples of supernatural events that are documented in the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. I also explained how the book provides evidence of some of the accomplishments of the Buddha in the Five Vidyas and that an earlier manuscript version of the book was sent to the world’s leading Buddhists. It was these holy Dharma kings and patriarchs who identified Master Wan Ko Yee as the third incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha. Biographies of these Buddhist leaders along with their letters of recognition and certification are all included in the treasure book.
Later that day, many dharma wheel mandalas appeared on photos of the train station in Creston, Iowa as one of the monastic team members left to return to San Francisco to prepare for her ordination ceremony. Earlier another lay team member had left to take care of personal business and because of the acrimonious environment that was developing within our team. We were down to a four-member team and there was still some bad blood between certain of the team members. The presence of the other two female members, who had just left, had tended to soften the grumbling and hard feelings. Now, they were gone.
Sure enough, at our next stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa an explosion occurred. The fighting was so loud and violent, I was afraid we would be thrown out of the motel where we were staying. I think it was something really silly over what TV program they could watch that triggered it, but this was certainly not the behavior of cultivators or what we wanted to project to the world. The venom and hatred were there, no matter how sweet a smile the team members tried to put on. People could feel it. It had to stop. I decided the fighting members had to leave the group. There was no wrong or right in the matter. If they could not get along and behave like vajra brothers, then they had no right to be on the tour and they could not propagate the Dharma. One of the warring parties was so fed up he was ready to leave, but I told him he had to take his brother with him. This was not a fight they could win by usual means or by running away from the problem. I printed copies of the discourse “What Is Cultivation?” and told them to read it and reflect on their own behavior. They did, decided to do better, and we were back on track for a while. I believe there were some genuine feelings of remorse and regret.
However, the bigger interpersonal conflicts between other members were still brewing. No matter who we are or how long we follow the Buddha, if we do not practice the way of the Buddha and cultivate ourselves, we will not progress, and we will have problems. The way of the Buddha is through self-cultivation—xiuxing—a Chinese term that means “to cultivate or improve oneself by reflection and correcting one’s behavior.” We were certainly not exempt from doing this just because we were on a holy mission.
I felt deeply ashamed that I was not better able to handle the situation. I had to ponder my own cultivation. What could I do differently to make this situation work? How could I change my behavior so as to set a better example for my brothers? Buddhism offers the methods to obtain good fortune and happiness in this life as well as a way to escape the cycle of reincarnation and the suffering of continual rebirth and death—BUT, you must follow the teachings. No matter your status or how long you are on the path, you must follow the system of self-cultivation and Dharma expounded by the Buddha. I knew I had much work to do.
We drove through the cornfields and pastures of eastern Iowa to the Mississippi River where we stopped for lunch at a sleepy river town. We then headed into Minnesota to visit Hokyoji, a Soto Zen Monastery. We visited the memorial to Dainin Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990), one of my early Zen teachers and the founder of Hokyoji and Ganshoji, a temple in Minneapolis (FIGURE 33). I offered prayers for the well-being of all at the memorial site and expressed my gratitude to Katagiri Roshi for his teachings. Joen Snyder O’Neal and Michael O’Neal, the guiding teachers of the Compassionate Ocean Dharma Center in Minneapolis, were conducting a weeklong silent retreat there, but welcomed us as did the abbot of the monastery, Dokai Georgesen, a Zen monk. Both the monastery and the Dharma center in Minneapolis had received copies of the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. I had attended the last practice period given by Katagiri Roshi at Hokyoji with Joen and received a special Dharma transmission at that time.
FIGURE 33: Memorial to Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990) at Hokyoji, New Albin, Iowa.
FIGURE 34: My painting of Zen Master Katagiri Roshi on the Konza Prairie in Kansas.
While in South Dakota, I visited Bear Butte (called Mato Paha by the Lakota Sioux and Noavosse by the Cheyenne) near Sturgis to make offerings and pray for world peace. This mountain is sacred to many Native American tribes. This was a place where native people were able to communicate with holy beings and where they left brightly colored prayer flags and tobacco ties as offerings. The Cheyenne prophet, Sweet Medicine, received the four sacred arrows, the four commandments, and a moral code for his people here from such holy beings. Many years before, on my first visit to this special place, I had climbed the mountain and left my own offerings for the local spirits (FIGURE 35).
FIGURE 35: Bear Butte, a sacred mountain near Sturgis, South Dakota. A Bodhisattva-like being had presented teachings to the Cheyenne on this mountain. I stopped to make offerings and pray for peace.
In North Dakota, I gave a presentation at the Fargo Public Library. Those attending were interested in the miracles that H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and the Buddha’s disciples had exhibited and asked many questions about how the teachings of the Buddha related to the teachings of other world religions. I remembered an amazing story told by my vajra brothers and sisters from China. When the Master Museum was being built near the Buddha’s hometown in western China, there was much concern that it would not be finished in time for the opening ceremonies. It was the rainy season and rain was forecasted for the limited time remaining. They knew that one of our brothers was able to forecast the weather and sometimes could even influence it. He was able to go to the heavenly realm and communicate directly with the Emperor of Heaven, the Jade Emperor who could control the weather. The brother did not want to do this as you do not casually make such requests, but he did. He was able to get a guarantee that there would be good weather to enable the work to continue. He wrote down his predictions and they were posted at the construction site. Although it continued to rain at night and in the surrounding areas, the site of the Master Museum was dry during working hours and the museum was finished on time. His predictions were 100% accurate. A patch of cloudless, sunny sky blessed the site for a month. We also distributed copies of the Big Blue Book to local officials, including the State Librarian.
In Wisconsin, the team paid their respects to the Kalachakra Stupa at the Deer Park Buddhist Center and monastery. The stupa was built in 1982 to commemorate the site of the first Kalachakra initiation in the western hemisphere, which was bestowed in July 1981 by H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama. We encountered two other Kalachakra style stupas on the tour—in Indiana and again in Hawaii. Both had been sites of Kalachakra initiations. Many Westerners have participated in the large-scale Kalachakra empowerments and initiations that have been given in the United States by a number of Tibetan masters. In the U.S., it is probably the best known of all the tantric Dharmas.
However, many do not know that this is a Dharma that was transmitted by Shakyamuni Buddha while He lived on this earth. At the same time Shakyamuni Buddha was imparting the Prajnaparamita Sutras at Vulture Peak (Mount Grdhrakuta) near Rajagrha, Shakyamuni Buddha manifested his wrathful twenty-four-armed form as the Kalachakra Buddha and gave the Heart Essence form of the Kalachakra Tantra teachings at Dhanyakataka to King Suchandra and his retinue of ninety-six minor kings and emissaries from Shambhala. Certain advanced practitioners in India knew of the existence of these teachings. In the tenth century Venerable Kalachakrapada Jamyang Dorje of India tried to journey to Shambhala to receive them. Shambhala is actually a sort of “pure land” that is part of our world system, but not visible or accessible to most humans. It can be considered part of the Samboghakaya realm. It exists on a different plane or dimension than what human beings can normally experience.
The eleventh Kalkin King of Shambhala realized what this Indian adept was about to do and how difficult it would be for this venerable one to make such a journey and took pity on him. With great compassion the Shambhala King met the venerable one on his journey and transmitted the Kalachakra Dharma to him. This Dharma was then transmitted throughout India and later to Tibet. Somantha, the Kashmiri Kalachakra master, transmitted the Heart Essence Kalachakra Dharma to the Tibetan translator Dro Lotsawa Sherab Drak and another Tibetan disciple, Yumo Mikyo Dorje around the eleventh century. They formed the foundation of the Jonang sect, which has maintained the lineage to this day.
Kalachakra literally means the cycles of time. It addresses the astrological cycles of the physical world as well as the cycles of human existence. The popular concept of “as above, so below” applies as the tantra emphasizes the similarities and correspondence between human beings and the cosmos. It teaches the practices of working with the most subtle energies within the human body as the path to enlightenment. It has been considered the most advanced of all the Buddhist teachings in the world today. However, at best this has only been an outer tantra transmission in modern times and, in fact, few receiving these teachings are able to actually practice them. It could be said that what we have generally seen as the Kalachakra is but the shell or a mere semblance of the original Dharma and lacks certain special powers of the true Buddha Dharma that Shakyamuni taught. It is given as a sort of empowerment for world peace and blessing that makes people feel good. This is why it is not easy to understand people’s level of practice based on their reputation or the Dharmas they transmit and receive. Some have great accomplishment and some—even some in very high positions—are quite ordinary. We must look and see evidence of realization to understand who they really are and whether they have the true Buddha Dharma that can liberate living beings in their current lifetime.
This Heart Essence form of the Kalachakra is not the highest form. However, Shakyamuni Buddha never taught the higher form, even though he himself had the Dharma and practiced it. The higher form is known as the Holiest and Most Secret Kalachakra Dharma. The Vajra Substitution Body Meditation is part of this Dharma whereby the crown of the disciple is opened within two hours of receiving the initiation so that the disciple’s consciousness can freely move about. The great holy being and patriarch of the Kagyu sect, Tilopa, was able to learn this Dharma directly from Dorje Chang Buddha in the Samboghakaya realms but did not transmit this Dharma to his disciples as he was not yet a Buddha and only Buddhas can transmit this Dharma. The true phenomenon of the opening of the crown is simply not found elsewhere in the world today. Those claiming to have such Dharma have not received the Vajra Substitution Body Meditation Dharma.
Because we are living in the Dharma Ending Age, Dorje Chang Buddha has incarnated again to teach us this highest form of tantra, known as the Holiest and Most Secret Kalachakra Dharma, from The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation as well as other very high Dharmas. This may well be what the late Penor Rinpoche meant when he told me that “because this is the Dharma Ending Age, it is good that such a high being has incarnated.” Penor Rinpoche was considered a master of the Kalachakra Dharma, but I believe he only had the Heart Essence form.
The treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III includes testimonials of two advanced disciples who received the Xian Liang Great Perfection Dharma. This is also Buddha Dharma from the Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation. Those fortunate enough to receive this Dharma can enter the rainbow body state after only practicing the Dharma for a few hours. These two disciples also received the Vajra Body Substitution Dharma whereby their crowns were opened so that they could manifest another vajra body that could freely come and go anywhere, including other realms of existence. This is not the same Dharma as the phowa Dharma that is commonly given to the dying to release their consciousness. With the various forms of phowa Dharma, like the Kuan Yin Phowa, when the consciousness leaves the body, it does not come back, but that is not the case with this form of the Holiest and Most Secret Kalachakra Dharma. The practice of this Dharma enables one to be in more than one location at the same time. Before and after MRI images of the skulls of those who received this Dharma clearly reveal an opening in the crown, big enough to insert several fingers. When I started this book, there were only 10 or so people in the world who had received this Dharma and only one, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, who can transmit it.
In case you are wondering why opening the crown is so important, we know that the crown must be opened for consciousness (or the soul or spirit) to ascend to the higher realms when one is finished with this life. Consciousness will leave through a particular place in the body and where it leaves will determine where it goes next. I will write more about this later when I tell of my own crown opening. There are many Dharmas that one can practice to open the crown or one can have the crown opened by a Vajra Master.
In Wisconsin, I lectured to a primarily non-Buddhist group at the Madison Public Library one night. The audience had very many questions, some relating to comparisons between Buddhism and Christianity and how one can know what is the truth and find the correct path. This was a particularly diverse and challenging audience. I tried to explain that it is because individuals have differing karmic affinities for different Dharma (teachings) and that one path may be correct for one person and not another. Shakyamuni Buddha taught 84,000 different paths to help those with different karmic conditions. Also, you may find you need different Dharmas at different times in your evolution. It is just like finding the correct medicine to cure a particular disease. You may start with one medicine and end up with something quite different as the disease progresses. I also told how in the Dhammapada or Sayings of the Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha tells his followers: “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” I went on to tell the group that you need to test the various teachings to see if they work. Do they enable you and others to have good fortune and be happy? Do you continue to suffer? Do people who follow these teachings become liberated and are they able to escape the suffering of earthly existence? I spoke of how, in the past, over 100,000 practitioners from just one temple in Tibet at Kathok were able to attain the rainbow body and ascend like Jesus. There were other temples like that as well. Even today people are achieving that level of realization in their current lifetimes, but it is now extremely rare. For example, the rainbow body Dharma has not been transmitted at Kathok in Tibet for several generations.
FIGURE 36: H.H. Jamyang Lungdok Gyaltsen Rinpoche (Lama Achuk (1927-2011) signs his congratulation letter after reviewing the manuscript version of the Big Blue Treasure Book, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Father Francis Tiso, who was with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and taught Tibetan Buddhism at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, heard of the rainbow body28 and went to Eastern Tibet to investigate a claim that an obscure lama had achieved this state whereby his body transformed into rainbow light and disappeared. He interviewed H.H. Jamyang Lungdok Gyaltsen, also known as Lama Achuk, and became convinced that attainment of the rainbow body was possible. He also found that Lama Achuk already exhibited this state.29 Lama Achuk is one of the holy beings who recognized H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as an incarnation of Ven. Vimalakirti and Dorje Chang Buddha. The book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III includes Lama Achuk’s letter of recognition along with a photo of the lama signing the letter (FIGURE 36). The book also includes testimonials of those who have already achieved the rainbow state of awareness by practicing Dharma from The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation.
It was in Madison that I met a very kind and impressive young Christian mystic who reminded me of something my Buddha Master had taught me some time before: “Not all Bodhisattvas are Buddhist.” Surely, I could embrace and honor the compassionate teachings of Jesus as Dharma that helps people on the path to becoming holy beings, even though that may not be the stated goal of most Christians. This same young man visited me later on the trip while we were both in New York City and we continued to correspond. Why couldn’t Jesus, Saint Francis, and other Christian saints who lived to help living beings be Bodhisattvas? Bodhisattvas appear to living-beings (not just humans) in ways that those beings can understand and relate to. I remembered a story that I am fond of telling about Dr. John Blofeld (1913-1987), a professor of religion at Berkeley, who was traveling in China with a Jesuit priest. Both men saw a shining white apparition, however, the Jesuit saw the Virgin Mary and Dr. Blofeld, a Buddhist, saw Kuan Yin Bodhisattva.
We stopped in Milwaukee and gave two public presentations in downtown Chicago. I talked about the teachings contained in the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III including the two methods taught in the discourse “What Is Cultivation?” on how to develop bodhichitta: the practice of seeing all living beings as your mother and the practice of having your behavior correspond to that of the Bodhisattvas whereby you actually put the well-being of others ahead of your own selfish interests. When one participant from a farm in Iowa heard this, she stated that she did not think she would be able to kill any more of her chickens if she saw them all as her mother. She figured she was going to have some pretty old chickens around and not have any more chicken dinners on Sunday.
From Chicago, we traveled down to southern Indiana to visit the Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery at Bloomington, Indiana. This was one of the very few times we encountered inclement weather, probably the tail end of Hurricane Gustav.
We drove by, but did not have time to stop at Sanshinji, the Sanshin Zen Community, founded in 1996 by Shohaku Okumura, (1948– ) a Soto Zen Priest and renowned translator of Japanese Buddhist texts. Shohaku had been one of my teachers as he had taken over the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis after Katagiri Roshi left this world. He was the disciple of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi (1912-1998), the abbot of Antaiji, a monastery and temple located in Kyoto, Japan.
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, I once more gave a talk on who H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is and why this great Buddha has come to America. It was a very diverse crowd that included nine monastics from local monasteries and temples. Venerable Sundima from the Vihara Mon Monastery (Burmese) in Fort Wayne came early along with a member of the Library staff to help translate for the various monastics. The crowd asked many questions concerning the status of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and who has recognized Him as well as questions concerning the basic doctrines of Buddhism.
We visited many of the Buddhist temples in Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne is another Midwestern city where a large number of recent immigrants from southeast Asia have settled. These new settlers had brought with them their monks and established their own temples. The Burmese monks at Wat Laosamakky wanted to be photographed with the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
The Team visited several Buddhist temples and Dharma centers in Ohio including the Wat Lao Buddhamamakaram and Karma Thegsum Choling, a Tibetan temple near downtown Columbus, Ohio. A thangka in this Kagyu temple of their lineage tree had a bright blue Dorje Chang Buddha as the central Holy Being.
The first patriarch of the Karma Kagyu Tradition, Master Tilopa, received tantric teachings directly from Dorje Chang Buddha as did the matriarchs of the Shangpa Kagyu sect, Lady Niguma and Lady Sukhasiddhi. Both women achieved very high levels of realization in a very short period of time. They both were very compassionate and had very deep roots of kindness. Lady Sukhasiddhi was an elderly and poor housewife who was kicked out of her home by her six children and husband for her generosity and who went on to become an enlightened being. She learned how to support herself by selling beer. She continued her generous ways and gave the beer away to a holy man who taught her the Dharma. Her level of realization was such that she was able then to learn directly from Dorje Chang Buddha in the Samboghakaya realms. Her physical appearance became as that of a beautiful 16-year-old fair-skinned girl. She was one of the major root gurus of Khyungpo Naljor, the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu sect as was Lady Niguma who also was able to learn directly from Dorje Chang Buddha. Both women mastered the Dharma taught by Dorje Chang Buddha and reached an enlightened state in only a few days. It is said that Lady Niguma was the sister of Naropa, the abbot of Nalanda who had spent many years and much difficulty in learning the Dharma from his guru Tilopa. As mentioned earlier, Tilopa was also able to learn the Dharma directly from Dorje Chang Buddha. Most of these holy beings are shown in the Buddhist Lineage Tree included as Appendix D.
The East Coast
We left Columbus and headed toward the Great Lakes, stopping in Erie, Pennsylvania for an al fresco lunch on the lake. The mid-September weather was perfect, and all was well. One of the team members had lived there as a boy and wanted to see his old hometown. It was quite late in the afternoon when we got to Buffalo, but we decided to take a short side trip to Niagara Falls since several of the team members had not seen this natural wonder. Although the park was just closing as we arrived and it was getting dark, we managed to see this powerful show of Mother Nature and the sacred site of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy whom we later visited.
The Dharma Propagation Team visited a number of monasteries, temples, and Dharma centers in upstate New York including the Palyul Retreat Center near McDonough, New York, the North American headquarters and principle retreat center for H.H. Penor Rinpoche, the former head of the Nyingma sect. We were fortunate to catch His Holiness before he returned to India after his summer teaching at the center. Khenpo Tenzin Norgey Rinpoche, the resident rinpoche at the retreat center, translated for us as we explained the purpose of our visit and journey. FIGURE 5 (page 26) shows a photograph from this meeting. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was one of the Dharma kings who had written a letter of recognition for our Buddha Master that was included in the treasure book. The rinpoche expressed his awe and admiration for H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. He wrote the following in a letter to rinpoches: “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Yangwo Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu… has been recognized by numerous greatly virtuous and eminent monastics… A Treasury of True Buddha Dharma… will provide the karmic conditions for living beings to… attain the ultimate state of Buddhahood.”
We could tell that the rinpoche was not in good health, so we felt very honored to have been able to meet him. Unfortunately for living beings, this kind rinpoche passed on the next spring at his Namdroling Monastery in southern India.
We had arrived in New England for the first frost of the season and in time to see the beginning of the spectacular fall color that the region is famous for. It was September 21. After giving a presentation at the historic Friends Meeting House in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we visited the Providence Zen Center and Diamond Hill Monastery founded by Seung Sahn Soen (1927-2004). Seung Sahn Soen had been one of my teachers and I wanted to go back to his home base to pay my respects. Although its foundation was in place, the master’s stupa had not yet been built. A 65-foot World Peace Pagoda is located just outside the Zen Center (FIGURE 37). Skanda Bodhisattva stands guard outside the zendo (meditation hall) located inside the center while Shakyamuni Buddha can be found in the zendo itself. The Diamond Hill Monastery contains a beautiful traditional blue-tiled Korean temple. It is located on the grounds of the Providence Zen Center. Turtles sun themselves on the pond in front of the temple while squirrels and other wildlife play in the woods surrounding this peaceful setting.
FIGURE 37: World Peace Pagoda at Diamond Hill Monastery near Province, Rhode Island; founded by Seung Sahn-sa (1927-2004). His memorial had not yet been erected when I visited the site.
On the way to the Catskills, we stopped in Connecticut and then proceeded to the Chuang Yen Monastery near Carmel, New York to pay our respects to the largest indoor Buddha in the western hemisphere. The 37-foot statue of Buddha Vairocana sits in the 84-feet tall Great Buddha Hall surrounded by ten thousand small Buddha statues. The Buddha Hall itself as well as the nearby Kuan-Yin Hall were built in the style of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) without any internal pillars supporting the ceilings. The entire project was constructed under the guidance of the renowned architect, I. M. Pei. A bas-relief sculpture of Skanda Bodhisattva, the great Dharma protector, guards the Buddha’s left while Guan Yu with his magnificent beard stands on the Buddha’s right.
After visiting the major retreat centers in the Catskill mountains of New York State, we proceeded southward to New York City. We did experience some challenging weather entering the city. Again, we were getting the onslaught from one of the season’s hurricanes as it dissipated its fury across the Northeast coast and drenched us in the process. The New York disciples were very kind and generous. We were able to stay in Manhattan near the United Nations and only minutes away from everything.
I read a preliminary English translation of one of the Buddha’s discourses to the New York disciples. This was one that had been given for the benefit of the Western students and I do not believe had been made available to the Chinese students. A student had raised the point that it was very hard for Westerners to practice the Dharma as many of the Dharmas are contrary to the concepts that we hold dear in the West, but the Buddha took issue with that point. The Buddha noted that it is true that there are cultural differences, but there are strengths and weaknesses in both cultures that need to be considered. The Buddha said that in the West, the self is valued and very much respected in such concepts as individual privacy and human rights, noting that these concepts are regarded as very important. However, the Buddha Dharma demands that we cut off attachment to self and that we always be patient under insult. Thus, in the mundane sense, these two perspectives are contradictory. However, in the absolute sense, these two perspectives are consistent. The Buddha continued to tell the Western students that this did not mean that just because the Westerner values the individual it means that the Westerner wants to harm that individual but will use his regard for individual rights to help other people. In fact, Western people are very kind to others. There must first be the existence of this sense of self to believe in oneself, learn well, or become a talented and outstanding person and be able to help others. This is correct. This confidence and sincere belief in oneself is especially important in Vajrayana practice when one practices actually visualizing one’s self as a Buddha. The Buddha said that Western culture is very excellent and Eastern culture is also very excellent. It is just that their ways are expressed differently. If Westerners are temporarily unable to accept the Buddha Dharma, then this is a matter of cause and effect. That is, the karmic conditions for them to accept the Buddha Dharma have not matured. The time for the bearing of fruit has not yet come, which requires the planting of seeds, time, sunshine, rain or watering, fertilizer, and gradual growth. Success will come when the karmic conditions have matured. So, as we propagate the Buddha Dharma in the West we must learn to be expert gardeners and know how to make the garden grow.
FIGURE 38: Librarian at the New York Public Library receiving the treasure book in New York City
John M. Lundquist, the Chief Librarian of the Asian and Middle Eastern Division of the New York Public Library was very happy to receive the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for the library’s research division. He also wanted a copy for the library’s branch system that will be available for circulation. Dr. Lundquist kindly showed us the hand-printed volumes of the Tibetan Canon that the library had recently acquired. This particular text that he showed us was a terma that had been printed from wood blocks at the famous printing center in Derge in eastern Tibet. The New York Public Library is one of the five largest libraries in the world and one of the first in the West to acquire the entire Tibetan Canon. Now it also had the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (FIGURE 38).
FIGURE 39: Dharma Wheel Mandalas (orbs) appear at presentation on the treasure book in New York City.
I was also able to present the treasure book to a very eager group at EastWest Living on Fifth Avenue. Many dharma wheel mandalas and other magical lights appeared at this presentation (FIGURE 39). After New York we headed south to Washington and the District of Columbia, stopping in Trenton, New Jersey, and places in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia.
We then continued south to the beach communities in Delaware. We held an impromptu ceremony at Pickering Beach near Dover for the thousands of horseshoe crabs who perish there every year in their annual breeding cycle. Pickering Beach is one of the most productive horseshoe crab spawning areas in the world (FIGURE 40).
FIGURE 40: Disciple flipping Horseshoe Crabs at Pickerington Beach near Dover, Delaware.
Buddhists not only vow to not kill living beings, but also vow to rescue captive or endangered animals and people. Every year the disciples of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III gather from all over the world in Marina Del Rey, California, to hold a Dharma Assembly to release captive fish in honor of the Buddha’s birthday. They sometimes do this more often. The Buddha requested that given the economic conditions caused by the unprecedented financial crisis of 2008 and various natural disasters and diseases in so many parts of the world that year, the disciples should save the transportation and lodging expense of attending the Fish Release Dharma Assembly, and instead hold life-saving activities locally; and that is what we did.
Every year hundreds of thousands of adult American Horseshoe Crabs die as they are stranded on the beaches of Delaware as well as other East Coast shoreline locations during their annual mating ritual. They come to shore to lay and fertilize their eggs and often end up on their backs and are unable to turn over by themselves so as to return to their aquatic homes. The churning surf will also expose their fertilized eggs to predators and combined with the burning sun results in the death of millions more baby horseshoe crabs. Although death is a natural part of the cycle of life, we nevertheless compassionately acknowledge their presence and contribution to the lives of other living beings. They have been featured recently in national media, as the blue blood of the horseshoe crab is essential in testing many medical vaccines that are now being developed to combat the dreaded Covid-19 virus. Unfortunately, the number of horseshoe crabs is declining.
One of the monks, went back to the Migyur Dorje Stupa in Maryland to sit and pray for people he knew with incurable diseases while the rest of us went to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. That stupa is dedicated to the eradication of diseases for which there is no known cure. When he came back, he found that a healing had taken place for himself as well. There had been a troublesome growth on his right arm for some time. He had been worried that it might be cancerous as it had been growing and had some dangerous signs. After praying at this stupa, the growth just fell off, left a red mark for a day or so, and now there was no sign of it. These things happen when one practices the correct Dharma and develops one’s bodhichitta. We all experience healings and blessings from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as we progress on the path.
The South
In North Carolina we stayed with disciples. It was hard to find their home in the mountains even with our trusty GPS and it was quite late that night when we finally were able to settle in. Our host in Arden, also had an interesting story to tell about how the Buddha had impacted his life. In 2005 I received a phone call from this disciple informing me that his mother in Montana was very ill and would probably not make it. He was on his way to visit her and wondered what he should do to help her make the transition. I reported the matter to our Buddha Master and was given some Dharma that I was to teach this disciple and he in turn could teach his mother. The Buddha told me to tell the disciple not to worry and that the Buddha would personally arrange for an angel to take her to heaven or a Bodhisattva to take her to a Pure Land in the Buddha Realms. He couldn’t believe his ears and was awestruck that his Buddha Master would do this for someone who had not even practiced Buddhism before.
Now although his mother was not a Buddhist, she was a very compassionate and spiritual person who was open to what her son had to say. She continued to practice this Dharma after he returned to North Carolina. Shortly before his mother passed on, a neighbor called to tell her that she had seen heavenly beings around her house. Earlier, his sister, who is also not a Buddhist, said she had felt H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha’s presence outside her mother’s room. The night before her passing, his sister said she “saw” the Buddha holding her mother’s hand and walking away with her. As this happened, she said, “I felt so much love, gentleness, and compassion from His Holiness Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu (The Buddha had not yet been recognized as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III when this happened) that I wanted to put my head down and cry. It was beautiful. I could hardly believe what I felt and saw.” How could it be that the Buddha would appear over 1,000 miles from where the Buddha was staying to help this woman make the transition? However, it is true. Such is the nature and compassion of the Buddha.
I had planned on stopping a few days to give the refuge vows to several who had requested them and to continue reading various discourses by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III at the Embracing Simplicity Hermitage and Center for Contemplation near Hendersonville. One of the discourses was entitled “Does the Attainment of Supernatural Powers Enable One to End the Cycle of Birth and Death?” or “Qigong Is Not the Same as Buddhism.” In this discourse the Buddha explains what must be used to end the cycle of birth and death—the power of the Buddha Dharma. The Buddha goes on to say that this power must be something that can be seen or measured. It cannot just be empty words or theories.
As in Asheville and elsewhere on the tour many colorful dharma wheel mandalas were recorded at these presentations and many beings from other realms manifested in the surrounding enchanted forest. I saw bright flashing red and yellow lights on the leaves and branches of the shrubs and trees, which sometimes looked like Christmas lights. One of the abbots at the Hermitage, Venerable Pannavati, told us that sometimes she was able to communicate with these earth spirits or devas. At one point in the development of the retreat center, they strongly objected to a construction project that was planned and started. They created so much havoc that the project had to be moved to another location that was acceptable to them. Now the abbot knows to contact these spirits and include them in plans for the area. Several people have seen the black local guardian dragon who sometimes stays in a corner in the back of the meditation hall. I did not see this dragon, but I did encounter another red and gold female dragon on another mountain north of Asheville, North Carolina that I already told you about. I was told that she was the local guardian spirit for that mountain. These woods are truly magical and alive with all sorts of beings. I gave a lot of thought to how to include these beings in my efforts to propagate the Dharma. After all, the Dharma is not just for human beings.
On our way to Atlanta we stopped in Waynesville, North Carolina where I read a discourse by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III on “What Is My Sect?” The Buddha has stated that the Buddha practices the true Buddha Dharma of all the legitimate sects of Buddhism whether they represent the Theravada, Mahayana, or Vajrayana systems. This includes the Pure Land Schools that chant the name of Amitabha Buddha, the Vinaya School that emphasizes the precepts and disciplines, the various Zen sects that stress meditation, or the shamatha and vipashyana meditation of the Theravada schools as well as the practices of the Fa-Hsiang, Consciousness-only and other schools of exoteric Buddhism and also the various Dharmas of the esoteric or secret traditions. If they were not part of the Buddha’s sect, Shakyamuni would not have spread such Buddha Dharma in this world. If only one sect could be relied upon to save living beings, then that one sect would be taught.
In that discourse, the Buddha also asked us what is the function of the Buddha Dharma? It is to liberate and save living beings. How are living beings liberated and saved? They are liberated and saved by adjusting and changing their karma, or their causes and effects. Living beings are saved in this way. This is the reason that we stress cultivation and understanding the principles of cultivation and this is the reason that it is extremely absurd and wrong to insist that everyone can become liberated through practicing a particular Dharma or the teachings of a particular sect.
This does not mean that the teachings of a particular sect are wrong, only that they cannot be exclusively right, either—not for everyone. This is the danger of sectarianism, one of the great destructive forces that was pervasive in Tibet as well as other parts of the Buddhist world. The great non-sectarian thinkers in Tibet of recent times were not trying to create a “Master sect” of only the best of each sect but trying to preserve the diversity and richness of what had evolved in all the lineages, some of which were on the brink of extinction. This was so that the myriad types of individuals with varied sets of karmic conditions could find a path that was right for them. An earlier teacher of mine often talked of the “different birds in the forest” in reference to this diversity of karmic affinity and conditions in people. It is because of all these “different birds” that Shakyamuni Buddha taught so many Dharma methods and that so many different sects evolved based on these methods. Everything is the Dharma of correspondence, the Dharma of cause and effect. However, a living being can only obtain liberation by relying upon his or her own cultivation. Only when a living being corresponds to a particular Dharma of a certain school within the Mahayana, Hinayana, or Vajrayana can that living being attain success in accordance with the Dharma.
Originally, we had planned on giving a presentation in Atlanta and again in Savannah, Georgia, but changed our plans so as to spend more time in North Carolina and be able to read more discourses to the eager students there. We visited places in Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana in the South. We didn’t stop in Arkansas, but almost a year later, I did go there. One night in Little Rock I was awakened at 4:00 am by a mockingbird outside my motel room that was singing its heart out. It was still dark outside. I remembered my favorite poem by the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore: “Faith is a bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark.” It was my total faith in my Buddha Master and the teachings of the Buddhas that enabled me to make this trip. I felt like that bird and wanted to sing my heart out as well, no matter how exhausted I felt.
This phase of the trip was coming to an end. We left the deep south for Texas, which is a region in itself, and the Southwest and headed back home toward California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest.
Maybe we were just tired, but it did not go well in Texas. We had driven only 550 miles the day before from New Orleans, but it was a hard drive under difficult conditions. The road to Baton Rouge was being rebuilt and was slow and scary. We had all had issues with the driving style of the primary driver, but that was getting better. Even so, much of the trip had been a white-knuckle ordeal. There had been a couple of scenes over this issue. The van was not so comfortable and after 25,000 miles it was getting to us. Everyone was exhausted. What had been, at least to me, more-or-less a truce between the monastics was wearing thin. What I found out was that although they were not quarreling in front of me as much as when we started, the tensions and bitterness were still there and wearing on everyone else. In Texas this all exploded. One of the team members frankly declared he was going home. He didn’t care if it meant he had to leave the practice and the monastery; he simply could not endure these conditions anymore.
I agreed he could go, but as when this had happened a couple of times before, I told him that the person with whom he could not get along had to leave too. I had no idea how we would continue the tour or if we could, but this seemed like the only way to handle the matter. I did not want to take sides as I felt they were both equally contributing to the problem. Neither one respected the other one. I told them they were vajra brothers and how serious it was to fight with a vajra brother especially one who had received empowerment from the Buddha in the same mandala. On several occasions, the Buddha had warned us that this was the work of demons. The brother who was determined to leave denied that this was any brother of his, but when he realized I would be left with the van and have to drive home as the remaining team members could not drive, he reconsidered and said he would stay.
This truce lasted less than 24 hours. I wanted them to go out to hand out flyers as they had done in the other cities. The monastic who wanted to leave became quite irrational. He revealed he had mace on him and would use it on the other monastic if need be. It also came out that the other monastic had been secretly recording the conversations of the other team members so as to prove their misdeeds. The hatred and poison were so strong that I called them both in and seeing there was no way I could resolve their conflicts, I told them both they had to leave the tour. The toxicity was too great. We had only one person show up at the previous night’s presentation. Who would want to attend anything with this kind of energy around? I did need them to drive and help with the presentations, but this was just not working and I lacked the ability to solve the problem. I have thought a lot about what I might have done differently to make the group work as a team, but still can see no better solution. I simply lacked the wisdom to resolve the issues involved.
So, one monastic was sent home immediately and the other would leave as soon as replacement drivers would join us in El Paso. It turned out that the best air travel connections were out of Albuquerque so the second monastic left then. But that was not the end. The other remaining team member was now very sick and his doctor had ordered him to go home and enter the hospital. I knew he would not do this and leave me without some support, so we asked one of the monastics to return to help drive the van back to San Francisco. This whole matter would be sorted out when we all reconvened in San Francisco to continue the tour. Albuquerque was the last presentation on this part of the tour.
I also became very ill. I had gone to Washington, DC from Phoenix and caught some sort of virus that put me in bed for almost a week. I flew back to San Francisco as planned and my dear kind students drove me to Los Angeles. The trip north to Eureka, Seattle, and Portland had to be cancelled. It was the Thanksgiving season and it had been very difficult to find suitable venues anyhow. I was really sorry to cancel our stop in Eureka, California as this was the second time and there had been considerable interest there. We would start again in Sacramento the first of December. That gave us some time to rest and heal on many fronts.
I wasn’t certain the monks would join us the last leg of our journey. When I talked to one, he was still blaming the other one and me for all that had happened and was not able to take any responsibility for what had happened himself. I had told them both that they needed to reflect and repent, but this wasn’t happening. So, I sent them both a long e-mail reminding them to read and reread “What Is Cultivation?” and study the words of our Buddha Master. What I asked was that they reflect on what happened and what they did to create that environment, not what the rest of us did—that was our business and work—and truly repent of their misdeeds.
It seemed to work. I received positive communications from both of them and they did rejoin the tour with much better attitudes. Maybe they got it. We all learned from this. I know I did. You must show respect for other living beings. Whether you like them or not is not important. Not liking anything or anyone is your problem and merely a sign of your attachment to your own petty self. The Buddha’s great teaching in “What Is Cultivation?” about it all being so simple if we could only let go of that attachment to self is so true.
My Buddha Master had been after me for my judgmental mind concerning those whose behavior or means of livelihood or whatever were not to my liking. I could see myself in these conflicts and vowed to be more tolerant and compassionate. Developing our bodhichitta is the most important job we have, and it does not mean just being kind to soft fluffy animals and people we like. I remembered the words of Shakyamuni Buddha and the fact that all living beings had been my mother at some time in my evolution:
Verses of Drumsong, King of the Serpentines:
The sea is not my problem,
My task is not the mountains,
My job is not the earth;
My calling’s rather to attend That I should never fail
Repaying kindness granted me.
Even with all this drama, we did hold three public meetings in Texas. In discussing the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in San Antonio, I described the three bodies of a Buddha; the vast formless mind of a Buddha, the Dharmakaya, that we symbolized by the red sun and the yellow crescent moon; the Sambhogakaya or bliss body of a Buddha that is only visible to holy ones; and the Nirmanakaya or transformation body that is visible to most people. Shakyamuni Buddha and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are both examples of Nirmanakaya Buddhas who incarnate into this world to help living beings.
When I was asked during my presentation at Casa de Luz in Austin, Texas about the significance of the lineage chart used in the presentations, I told the assembled group that it not only shows the lineages of the major sects of Buddhism, but it also shows that all the sects, whether they be of the Theravada, Mahayana, or Vajrayana tradition, originated with Dorje Chang Buddha.
In Sedona, Arizona, I explained why and how H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha had been recognized by the world’s major Dharma kings including the former head of the Nyingma sect, H.H. Penor Rinpoche, H.H. Dodrupchen Rinpoche, and others. When asked about others who claim to be incarnations of great Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, I said that there are certain criteria given in the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for such recognition. For example, a true holy one should be able to perform authentic inner-tantric initiations and empowerments whereby the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas actually come to the mandala and make their presence known. The person receiving such an initiation actually experiences a holy state. A true holy one should be able to have the Buddhas bestow sacred nectar in front of witnesses and be able to use that nectar to help living beings. A true holy one excels in all five of the vidyas and has mastered the sutras and secret tantric teachings of the Buddhas. H.H. Penor Rinpoche also said that such a holy being should manifest many magical and miraculous attributes. These qualities of the Buddha are all well documented in the book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. In fact, for anyone even to be considered a holy being or saint, they must both have an exceptional level of realization and manifest the great bodhichitta and compassionate state whereby everything they do is for other living beings AND they must demonstrate a physical body that is different from that of an ordinary person. No matter what else they may say or do, if they cannot meet these two criteria, they cannot be considered a holy being, let alone the ultimate holy being of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. As an aside, in February 2020, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III lifted a 420 pound vajra pestle using a hook and only one hand at a Dharma assembly held at the Holy Miracles Temple in Pasadena, California after no one else could do so.
Tribal Visits
The team had been warmly welcomed by Governor Paul T. Martinez and Lt. Governor Tom Lujan, Jr. of the Taos Pueblo when we visited the Rio Grande Valley. When told about the book and the fact that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III had come to America, the Lt. Governor became very excited and told the team that when he was very young he knew that there was a young boy from Tibet (China) who was “the one who is the root of Buddhism.” He said, “I think he would be in his early fifties now and that he would be the highest leader of Buddhism.” The team members explained that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III was indeed the highest Buddhist in the universe and the root source of all Buddhism and would fit that description. The pueblos are considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the USA, having been built over 1,000 years ago. Blue Lake (Ba Whyea) and its related mountains are the most sacred lands of the Taos Pueblo, but are off-limits to all but members of the Pueblo.
My brother, Glenn Welker, who at that time was doing volunteer work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian gave us a tour of the facility while we were in the Washington, DC area (FIGURE 41). I wanted to see this museum as I had been formulating an expanded vision of the Bodhisattva that I thought might help explain a major Buddhist concept to the West.
FIGURE 41: My brother, Glenn Welker at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, District of Columbia.
My Buddha Master had told me on several occasions that not all Bodhisattvas were Buddhists so I wanted to look at how they might have presented themselves in other cultures. What better place to look than within our own native cultures? I thought this beautiful museum should hold many clues. I believed the Peacemaker or Deganawida and his follower the Mohawk Hiawatha of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy might just be Bodhisattvas. I found that my own native ancestors, the Ashinabe or Ojibway told of the Little Boy who received the spiritual teachings of his tribe from the seven grandfathers after a long and difficult journey across the land. Were these actually Bodhisattvas giving these people the teachings they needed to develop a basic moral code and way of life? Later when we visited the Hopi, I came to think of the Kachinas as a type of Bodhisattva as well. They were, after all, spirit beings from another realm that came to help living beings. Wasn’t that a definition of a Bodhisattva? How can we tell just who is or is not a Bodhisattva? And what about the White Buffalo Calf Woman (Pte Ska Win) who brought spiritual teachings to the Lakotas? She was considered a sacred woman of supernatural origins who gave the Lakota their “Seven Sacred Rituals.” Was that another Bodhisattva who came in a form that the Lakotas would appreciate? When I visited the Dakotas in September of 2009, I spent some time sitting on Bear Butte (Mato Paha or Noahvose), a mountain located in the Black Hills near Sturgis, South Dakota, that is sacred to many native tribes (FIGURE 35 page 93). It was here that over 4,000 years before, a Cheyenne man named Sweetwater had received guidance and gifts for his people. Was Sweetwater another Bodhisattva, or was he able to communicate with them? “Not all Bodhisattvas are Buddhist” my Buddha Master had told me.
After we left Texas and the Rio Grande, we headed into Indian Country, stopping first at the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico to deliver a book to their tribal council. I had spent considerable time at that pueblo while traveling in that area with Dorje PaMu a few years earlier.
From there we went to Window Rock, Arizona but were too late to find anyone who could take the precious treasure book to the Navaho leaders. It was the weekend, so we knew this would be difficult and we had stayed too long on the mesa at the Acoma Pueblo. We planned on staying longer at the Cultural Center of the Hopi at Kykotsmovi and hopefully being able to meet with some of their elders. On Sunday I stayed at their Cultural Center and enjoyed my native hominy stew (nok qui vi) and caught up on the internet postings of the tour while the rest of the delegation went further west to visit the Grand Canyon.
FIGURE 42: Hopi Tribal officers receive treasure book, Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona.
The Hopi Nation does not allow photos to be taken on the reservation, but the tribal leaders did consent to have their pictures taken at the tribal office where they received the treasure book (FIGURE 42). They were especially interested in the photo of the Buddha’s Yun sculpture “Mysterious Boulder with Mist” shown in FIGURE 43. In this work of art, the Buddha had crafted two grottos in a sculpture of a rock, only in one side there was a heavy mist and in the other it was quite clear. It is truly a miraculous phenomenon. Everyone who sees this Yun sculpture30 is amazed. How can someone carve mist from the air and place it inside a rock? This work of art was part of an exhibition given at the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC for members of Congress in 2003. This sculpture is now part of the permanent collection on display at the International Art Museum of America in San Francisco. The Vice Chairman of the Hopi Nation requested additional copies of the book for their libraries and school. Shrouded in clouds, the sacred San Francisco Peaks, home of the Hopi Kachinas, could be seen on the way from the Hopi Nation to Flagstaff.
The West Coast, Hawaii, and The Pacific Northwest
It was December 1, 2008 when we started the next leg of the journey in our home state of California. Our first stop was in Sacramento where I gave a presentation at the Belle Cooledge Branch of the Public Library.
FIGURE 43: The Hopi elders were interested in the Yun Sculpture “Mysterious Boulder with Mist” hand sculpted by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III.
Although the tour was supposed to continue to Reno, Nevada and the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City, we cancelled those presentations and headed back to San Francisco. One morning, as soon as I felt one of the drivers was up, I asked to be taken to the hospital. Something was not right and without help, I knew I would not be able to make any more presentations. The kind emergency room doctor told me I had a form of pneumonia and sent me to bed with antibiotics and other drugs. I was exhausted, but I knew I could muster the strength to give the presentation in Sacramento that night. Those presentations tended to energize me. I am sure I had the blessings and power of my Master and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas whenever I talked to groups about the treasure book and how blessed we were to have the Buddha living amongst us. As the tour had progressed, I found myself often besieged with violent fits of coughing. I started asking my yidam for help to deliver the presentation and sure enough I did not cough while I was presenting. However, if I was not clever enough to ask for help during the question and answer period that followed, I would then begin coughing again. You do have to be careful what you ask for.
As soon as we were finished in Sacramento, we headed back to San Francisco where the nuns again helped nurse me back to health. Between the miracle of modern drugs and the kindness of the nuns and a lot of rest, I was able to give a powerful presentation to a large group at Hua Zang Si, their temple in San Francisco. (FIGURE 44)
FIGURE 44: Mountain of treasure books at my return presentation in Hua Zang Si.
We had come full circle back to Hua Zang Si, where the tour had begun, almost six months before. My presentation at Hua Zang Si was preceded by a video of that June assembly so that those present could witness the ceremony and experience the nectar rain that had manifested outside the temple after the event. When I was challenged by an attendee who insisted that the Buddha was only a prophet and not divine, I explained how becoming a god was not the goal of Buddhists. I further told how Shakyamuni Buddha had responded to someone who questioned just who He was when He walked on this earth over 2,500 years ago. When asked if He was a god, He said “No.” “Was He a man?” Again, the Buddha answered “No.” “Then what are you?” He was asked. The Buddha replied, “I am awake.” And that is the goal of all Buddhists—to become awakened to who they really are and to be able to leave samsara or the suffering of earthly existence. Actually, the goal is much broader. For Mahayana Buddhists the goal is to save all living beings—we only seek enlightenment so that we can help other beings—all our relatives from all the realms of existence.
One night I gave a presentation on why and how H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has come to America at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Branch of the San Jose Public Library next door to San Jose State University. There were many questions, especially from the college and high school students who attended. I am often asked what it is like to be a close disciple of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. I sometimes just smile and tell them to read The Life of Milarepa to see how Marpa taught his most famous disciple. We are all tested, but rarely asked to build and tear down stone towers—at least not in a physical sense. Sometimes I see it, but most of the time I have only realized that I was being tested a long time after the test was given and it was too late. It seems I catch my mistake sooner, but I still miss a lot.
One thing I have observed is that the Buddha never gives a test that is too difficult for the student, although it may be quite a stretch and not anything that you could have possibly anticipated or would ever have done otherwise. I have seen students tested in front of their peers in a formal way, but most of the time it is just part of ordinary events and can be done anywhere and anytime and when you least expect it. Actually, the Buddha Master did not need to test me. As a Buddha, I am sure He knew what my level of realization was. These tests were to enable me to see how I was or was not progressing.
One of the realizations that I have recently gained is how the Buddha has been training me to let go of my judgmental mind. Sometimes the lessons have been subtle and sometimes I have been called on something in front of hundreds of my peers, but I am getting it. Am I perfect in this regard? No, but I am infinitely better than when I started to practice with my Buddha Master, and I can see the fruits of my transformation. This is the way it works whereby we use our cultivation to transform our ordinary consciousness into wisdom. The Christian use of WWJD (“What would Jesus Do?”) is very good practice. We must evaluate our thoughts, actions, and speech and make them like those of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. What would Green Tara do? What would Kuan Yin do? What would Shakyamuni Buddha do?
My own suffering and that which I saw around me caused me to think deeply about how we create our unhappiness and how the teachings of the Buddha can help us overcome our negative thinking and habitual tendencies. Everything, and I do mean everything, is the result of my own actions. There is nothing that happens to us that we did not cause in this life or previous ones.
We spent another night south of San Francisco at Bodhi Monastery and headed east across the state to Fresno and Sanger Mission where we spent several days visiting local temples. At a presentation in Fresno, I explained again why H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III had come to America and introduced some of the Buddha’s teachings. After the presentation, those present dedicated their merit to all living beings and prayed that all would quickly become accomplished like Kuan Yin Bodhisattva. Kuan or Guan Yin Bodhisattva, also known as Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit and Chenrezig in Tibetan, is revered by Buddhists as the personification of compassion. As I explained earlier, this Bodhisattva is already a Buddha, but continues to manifest in this realm as a Bodhisattva to help liberate living beings from all sufferings.
The Sanger Mission located near the town of Sanger on the way to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is a very peaceful rural setting. Near the city of Fresno, it was a perfect place for reflection and meditation, something we had not had nearly enough time for on the trip. At the time, I had no idea that this location would be my future home and the location for what would be known as the Xuanfa Institute and later as the Holy Vajrasana Temple and Retreat Center, or that I would be moving here the following month.
We headed home to Pasadena immediately after a presentation in Santa Barbara. This phase of our Dharma Propagation Mission was over. Thousands of Westerners now knew of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and why he had come to this world and specifically to America. They also knew what they had to do to enter the true Dharma.
I resumed my weekly classes at the United International World Buddhism Association Headquarters31 in Monterey Park on the latest translations of discourses by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. After the holidays, I was given the option of moving to Sanger Mission to establish my own institute and temple. It was a perfect fit. I would miss the daily interaction with my beloved Buddha Master, but it would give me a place to develop for Western students like I had wanted. I was told I could move after the Chinese New Year, which was January 26. I filled up the big van we had used for the trip with my worldly belongings and headed north. Although the previous occupants had not quite moved out, I had to move quickly as the next phase of the Dharma Propagation Mission was about to begin.
Hawaii
After a brief rest and time to move to Sanger, I was ready to start the next leg of the Dharma Propagation Tour. This time it was just the nun from Hua Zang Si and myself. We packed all our presentation gear in a golf bag carrier and another large suitcase and left San Francisco International airport on February 10 for our trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
We were very lucky to have a very enthusiastic group at the presentation I gave at the First Unitarian Church in Honolulu. I was still battling my demons and given to fits of coughing and near laryngitis. I was so unsure as to whether I could even give the presentation that I had the nun read the lecture to make sure she knew the pronunciation of all the words, just in case she would have to help. Although her English was quite good, it was still not her primary language. I know she was praying that my voice held up and I didn’t start coughing again. I was, too. However, like so many times before, we were blessed, and the presentation went very well. There was so much good energy in the room and with the blessing of our Buddha Master and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, how could it have been otherwise? It really was amazing. For so much of this tour I had been quite ill, yet when there were Buddhist matters to be dealt with, I always was able to perform. More than once I left a hospital to make a presentation.
People are so hungry for the Dharma and do recognize just what an auspicious event these presentations are. Many wanted to hang around to learn more and help us pack for the next leg of our journey. There was one young man who came who told us he had seen the Buddha a few years before in Hawaii. I had been with the Buddha on that trip, so I could confirm that was probably correct. Another young man came because he wanted to know how to see the Buddha’s artwork that had so inspired him. They were both very happy to receive copies of the treasure book, which contained many illustrations of His art. Like elsewhere, people want to know how they can meet the Buddha and learn more about the Buddha’s teachings. Of course, I told them to read “What Is Cultivation?” and work to have a Dharma center on the island so that they can have a place to hear the Buddha’s discourses. I told them about the most recent “Trip to the East” series that further explains much of what is in “What Is Cultivation?” and that they are being translated and I will be reading preliminary translations until they are officially recorded.
The Buddha had told the Dharma Propagation Team and repeated in a Chinese New Year discourse that the Buddha would directly teach those who would be responsible for propagating the correct Dharma to others—although the Buddha does have a few ordinary students who are not Dharma teachers, lamas, vajra masters, rinpoches, or Dharma kings, so blessed because of deep karmic connections to the Buddha and the Buddha’s family from past lifetimes. Most of the Buddha’s direct disciples are Dharma teachers, rinpoches and the like, but I must add, that some of the so-called “ordinary students” who do not bear honorific titles may well be holy beings who are more advanced and have higher states of realization than those who bear those titles. Titles, per se, do not tell you anything about one’s level of realization or understanding of the Dharma.
I told the group that the best way to meet the Buddha is to cultivate yourself according to “What Is Cultivation?” and the related discourses and help others hear the Dharma. Of course, it is possible for those with a pure heart to meet the Buddha in their dreams and receive the Buddha’s empowerments through telepathic means. I shared my own experiences and those of my students in that regard.
I had, after all, received the design for the logo that I use for the Xuanfa Institute and my original website in a very vivid dream and my Buddha Master told me that this was His way of explaining how I should propagate the Dharma (FIGURE 2 page 15). I saw a red sun riding in a yellow crescent moon floating on dharma clouds. The sun was like a mirror with seven jewels in rainbow colors around its edge. They represented good fortune, holy manifestations or miracles, the five vidyas, wisdom, compassion, sainthood, and enlightenment. The sun and the moon together are often used as symbols for the highest Buddha Dharma. They are symbols for the Dharmakaya or the Adharma Buddha. You can see them on our lineage charts and in various forms on the top of holy stupas all over the world as well as other holy places. This magical mirror of the Buddha Dharma can enable you to attain all these “jewels.” You can be blessed with good fortune and happiness and avoid all disasters. You will naturally acquire the supernormal powers and extraordinary skills with which you can help others. You will perfect your wisdom and compassion to become a holy or enlightened person and ultimately achieve Buddhahood (perfection). The Buddha Dharma is marvelous and sublime! It is truly the wonderful existence of another dimension that is available for everyone. Every living being has the potential to become a Buddha!
The flight from Honolulu to the island of Maui went smoothly. There were fluffy clouds and balmy breezes and such mellowness that I understood the reason why human life on the rest of this earth was the best place to practice—better than in the heavenly realms where everything was so wonderful that you had no incentive to leave samsara or desire to practice. This was as close to heaven as one could want. There were palm trees swaying and warm sunny beaches and incredible vivid flowers of all hues and the friendliest people you could find anywhere. People really seemed glad to see you and welcome you to this little bit of paradise.
But I still had my very earthly karmas to remind me I was still part of samsara. Although my voice was great for the presentation last night, it was barely more than a squeak today. How would I do at the Maui Beach Resort Hotel presentation on Saturday? The nun took very good care of me. She definitely did not want to read my speech; although I had no doubt that she would do anything she needed to do to propagate the Dharma. I had remembered a remedy our host had given me when Bodi Wentu Rinpoche and I visited her in Washington, DC last spring. Her sister was an actress in China, and we were told that she always gargled with and drank water that had been infused with tangerine peels before she went on stage. That remedy worked then, and it had worked the prior night in Honolulu, and I was counting on it again—that and our prayers and the help of our spiritual friends.
It was Valentine’s Day and I wasn’t certain what sort of crowd we would have, but it was a good turnout, and everyone seemed enthusiastic to hear about how and why H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III had come to the United States. There were a few Buddhists in the crowd, but most were not affiliated with anything. All seemed to have a strong spiritual connection, especially to the island. You could sense a powerful influence of the local gods and goddesses here. Only in Crestone, Colorado, and to a somewhat lesser sense in the Appalachian Mountains had I felt this before in our travels.
We had met a delightful medicine man from the Wampanoag Tribe, an eastern woodland band that once inhabited most of New England, and his very beautiful tall and blonde Swedish wife at the airport in Maui the morning before. They were also on their way to Hilo to conduct a camp there—mostly for children. He was from a village in New Hampshire and told me he had been a Buddhist when he was young, having a statue of the Buddha and learning to meditate while he was in boarding school. It was the only organized religion that made any sense to him and he agreed that there were many parallels between the native beliefs and Buddhism. He reminded me so much of my own father who was also of the woodland tribes. I told him about taking my elderly father to his first sweat lodge and how the “Thunder Beings” had come, even though it was a very clear cloudless night, and how similar holy beings or Dharma Protectors often made their presence known at ceremonies conducted by my Buddha Master. He said he was 80 years old, but he certainly did not look it. I also told him about the Dharma Propagation Team meeting the leaders of the Taos Pueblo and how the Lt. Governor had told us about “knowing” as a child that a very great Buddha—the root Buddha—had been born in Tibet-China around fifty years ago and how happy he was to receive the treasure book.
We drove around the entire Big Island stopping on Painted Church Road near the village of Captain Cook on the Kona coast to see the Kalachakra Stupa at the Paleaku Peace Garden located there. It was a beautiful drive and the first time I had been able to see the snow-capped mountains of Mona Koa and Mona Lona. The other times I had been here they were covered with clouds. It is so desolate on the Kona side of the isle of Hawaii—just fields of cattle and old lava flows with luxury resorts dotting the coast. Highway 190-180 is further inland and up high enough that you can see everything. There are a few small villages down where the stupa is located, but the rest is pretty much uninhabited. The Hilo side of the island is quite different with lush vegetation and dazzling waterfalls and more urbanization. When we drove further south, we encountered newer lava flows, one containing the skeleton of a burned-out home that obviously did not escape the wrath of Pele, the volcano goddess. I remembered being here in the 70’s and not being able to travel on this road as the mountain was still erupting and the lava flows blocked all access. Now the road had sliced through what had been molten rock and we could circle the entire island.
We were given a three lei welcome by Barbara de Franko and her friends. Although I had told her that the reason I do not notify anyone of my visits to the stupas is because it is a personal and private event, she still managed, at the last minute, to pull together seven or eight local friends to welcome us and arranged for a very nice lunch on the veranda at the Peace Center. The center was non-sectarian and had gardens devoted to many different religions including a Native American Medicine Wheel. Barbara and her friends had many questions and seemed happy with the answers I gave, based on various discourses from my Buddha Master. They asked how you know which practice is right for you and I told them that it is the one you have the karmic affinity to practice and that you DO practice. Receiving many very high and fancy tantric initiations is of no use if you do not have that affinity or do not proceed to practice them. Of course, you also need an authentic master to guide you and give you the initiation. Such a master will also be able to ascertain which is the correct Dharma for you. Many of those present had followed H.E. Kalu Rinpoche and now followed Lama Tharchin Rinpoche who was coming there in a few weeks. They told us how much the first Kalu Rinpoche had loved the islands. When the reincarnation of Kalu Rinpoche visited them several years ago while still very young, he also told them of his love for the islands and that he would return when he was grown up. I ended that part of the tour with a visit to the Kalachakra stupa that Kalu Rinpoche had built (FIGURE 45).
FIGURE 45: Circumambulating the Kalachakra Stupa at the Paleaku Peace Garden on the Kona coast on the Big Island of Hawaii.
I had to ask them about my realization as to how anandamaya (the delusion of bliss) works and jokingly wondered if it was hard to practice Buddhism in Hawaii, as it was so much like living in paradise. They agreed that when you visit the islands, maybe for the first week or so of living here, you think you are in paradise. The weather and environment are so lovely and the people are kind and gentle, but pretty soon your old demons and delusions take over and you have just as many reasons to practice here as anywhere else. Also judging from the tsunami warning signs, the lava flows, and the area where we were told to drive carefully because we were in a fault zone and there were many cracks in the road, the weather and environment is not always so perfect either. A tornado touched down on a golf course and picked up and threw a 262 pound man against a building on the first day we were in Hawaii. And then there were the torrential rains with zero visibility and the 60+ mph trade winds and typhoons, but most of the time the weather is ideal.
My arms and legs were blazing red and bumpy, but I felt it was sort of a detox process whereby my body was ridding itself of many toxins. I just read in the local news that the air and water here will do that to you. The entire tour and especially to the islands had been a kind of detox for me. I had to think a lot about my practice and my cultivation and how to rid myself of harmful habits and tendencies. I firmly believe that the message of “What Is Cultivation?” contains the best medicine for all our ailments. I must continue to practice it.
Our presentation on Hilo was a bit different. We had several very serious Buddhist disciples come and a couple who were acting very strange. It finally dawned on me, but only after I saw the young man roll what I am sure were a couple of joints, that they were stoned. Why they came, I do not know. They said they were curious and they were very polite. From my own experiences and observations, I know that many substance abusers are actually looking for some sort of spiritual path—only in the wrong places. The young man said he was a serious Christian and asked very intelligent questions wondering if we were a lot like the Mormons whom he said believed that if you live a good moral life you will become gods. Not knowing that much about the Mormon faith, I could only answer that we did indeed believe that if you became enlightened you will become a Buddha, but that was a state that was much higher than that of the gods. They sat through most of the presentation, but toward the end, I saw the young man was getting restless and began to roll another couple of joints and then he and his lady friend quietly left. We had a very good and lengthy discussion after the presentation, mostly on how the practice of Zen fit into the lineage chart. The remaining attendees were mostly practitioners of the Zen tradition. One very dedicated young man had tried to come to the presentation in Rochester, New York, and was very happy to meet us in Hilo. He knew we were going to the stupa and had tried to meet us there, even traveling around the island twice to try to find us.
The Pacific North-West
The full team was back together for the last leg of the group effort. It was late April 2009. The rest of the visits I would pretty much be on my own. By now I had enough students in various places around the country that I could count on local support for the remaining locations. We gave three more presentations in northern California and headed to the Pacific Northwest. It was spring and the mountain roads should be good enough to come back through Idaho and Reno. I gave presentations on the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III at the Sonoma County Public Library in Santa Rosa and at the Holy Dharma Discourse Center in Sausalito, California.
The landscape was different than when we started. The intra-team fighting had ceased. Everyone was trying very hard to get along. The seeds that had been sown earlier were starting to sprout. The intensive bombardment of internet ads and reporting was paying off. We had fledgling Dharma centers established. Three of the team had been designated as Masters of Dharma Listening Sessions. They and three others had their own centers and were bringing more people to the Dharma. New students whom we had met on the way also had taken refuge and established centers where even more people could listen to the Dharma. All was as it should be.
We stopped in Mount Shasta on the way to Oregon. I gave a presentation on the treasure book at the Mount Shasta Branch of the Siskiyou County Public Library. We also presented a copy of the treasure book to the monks and nuns at Shasta Abbey. I wanted to pay my respect to the stupa of the founder of the Abbey and my first Buddhist teacher, Roshi Jiyu-Kennett (FIGURE 46). Even though it was Spring, the Mountains were still covered with a beautiful blanket of snow and it was quite chilly. You could feel and smell the awakening of the earth as a new year was beginning.
FIGURE 46: Memorial stupa for Roshi Jiyu Kennett (1924-1996) at Shasta Abbey near Mt. Shasta, California.
The team gave a presentation at the Northwest Branch of the Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon amidst quite dramatic circumstances. Just before I began the presentation, a violent hailstorm bombarded the library dumping several inches of hail and rain on the area. The ferocious storm with tornado-like winds only lasted a very brief time and subsided as the presentation began (FIGURE 47). Afterwards a beautiful full rainbow filled the sky. Only once before had I witnessed such a display of hail and wind and that was when I was with His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III in southern California. It seemed as though the heavens had opened up and diverted a river of ice over where we were. Since the dogwoods and other trees were in bloom, the ice flow was colored by many flower petals and tender green leaves and was very beautiful. As the storm left, the lights started to flicker in the meeting room. I told the attendees how a ghost had attended one of my classes in southern California and turned the lights on and off until I thought to ask it to stop. It obeyed. The same thing happened here. I invited the ghost to stay and hear the presentation, but to please stop playing with the lights and the lights flickered one more time and remained still. I believe that this type of ghost only wants you to acknowledge their presence and means no harm. Ghost beings want to hear the Dharma, too.
FIGURE 47: Ice flow of hailstones outside Northwest Branch of Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon, just before Tour presentation.
We stopped in Olympia and gave a presentation in Seattle, then headed southwest across the Cascade Range toward Idaho. I gave a presentation on “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Is Living in America” at the Boise Public Library and answered many questions that the attendees had about the Buddha and Buddhism and how one takes the quick path to enlightenment. I gave a presentation on the treasure book at a local yoga studio in Reno, then continued south to Carson City, Nevada. From there the team drove back to San Francisco and home, but that was not the end of the tour for me. Two more times I crossed the US in my little red Honda, and once by train and again by plane, going alone most of the way. But these trips were more oriented to setting up Dharma centers and reading the discourses of the Buddha to those I had met on earlier trips. However, there were still two new places in the Pacific Northwest left to visit—the awesome states of Alaska and Montana.
I made a solo trip to Alaska and introduced the book to a group assembled at the Z. J. Loussac Public Library in Anchorage. Many things had happened since the book was released in April 2008. Literally thousands of Dharma centers and temples had sprung up to offer people a chance to listen to the holy discourses of this great Buddha. I had just returned from Hong Kong where representatives from more than a thousand temples, associations, and other Buddhist organizations had gathered to take an exam to be able to lead Buddhists in listening to the Dharma spoken by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Fifty more were certified as Acaryas. This was the second such assembly with another being given in San Francisco in April of that year. I returned with other rinpoches and Dharma masters every year after that for several years to help administer the exam.
I also told the group that another great book of Dharma would soon be published that would further expound the highest teachings in Buddhism—The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation and I urged everyone to read it, follow its guidelines, and quickly become liberated. What is available in Chinese online is part of the SAUMOL that relates to cultivation. Many mantras and other commentary are still missing from that as are the highest Dharmas and the first Mind-Essence. Advanced students have been transmitted some of these Dharmas like the Vajra Substitute Body Meditation Dharma or Tummo Concentration. What we have, however, provides a good basis for learning the foundational Dharma that would be required to be able to practice the higher Dharmas.
On my trip to Montana, local Buddhists and other interested residents of Helena gathered at the Law Library on Rodney Avenue to hear how Dorje Chang Buddha had come again to this earth and how this great Buddha fits in the lineage of all Buddhist sects. I also introduced the group to some of the teachings contained in the treasure book H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III as well as provided examples of various Dharmas that senior disciples had received. These included the Xian Liang Great Perfection Dharma whereby the recipients were able to realize the rainbow body state in less than two hours after receiving the initiation; an advanced form of Tummo Dharma that enabled the recipient to raise his body temperature to almost 200 degrees and thus be able to destroy his negative karma and physical afflictions; the Buddhas Bestowing Nectar Dharma; and the Vajra Substitute Body Meditation Dharma where the crown of the recipient is opened so that his or her consciousness can come and go at will. This is much different from the Dharma known as phowa where the crown is opened at the time of death to enable one to go to a Buddha Land or other higher realm. Some of those attending were practicing a form of phowa.
Since there were representatives from various groups within all three of the major vehicles of Buddhism (hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana) as well as students from the local Catholic university and others, an enthusiastic and probing discussion followed the presentation. Some of those present were shocked to hear that unlike many religious leaders, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III does not accept offerings from His disciples. I am quite sure that was not the case with their leaders.
A most amazing thing happened soon after we crossed the border into Montana on our way to Helena. A student from Salt Lake City had come to Boise to hear the discourse I read there and help with logistics, and decided to continue as far as Helena before returning home. We had plenty of time and took our time driving through this beautiful land. It was a beautiful cool, sunny day with bright blue skies and wispy white clouds. Montana certainly deserved to be called “The Big Sky” state. The sky was immense and the seemingly uninhabited landscape went on forever. I found I was starting to fall asleep again and pulled off to catch a quick nap. We were driving in separate cars. I must have slept for 10-15 minutes and when I awoke the brilliant purple and green lights that I often see in meditation started to coalesce again. It was like it had been earlier that morning at another rest stop, when an opening appeared like a window into another dimension. That time it was not so clear, and I couldn’t be sure of what I saw. It was as I imagined a portal to take you to another world would look. Once before this had appeared in my bedroom in Sanger shortly after a powerful empowerment in Pasadena. A rectangular opening appeared, and I could see inside that window. There were many Bodhisattvas or Buddhas inside looking out at me, or they appeared to be looking at me. That time the world had a ruby red glow to it—like the two giant beams of light that entered me a few days earlier during a ceremony in Pasadena. Those beams looked like what we videotaped at a stupa in Colorado. They pulsated and were alive, and a beautiful ruby red, and filled me with their power. This same phenomenon appeared many times at the Xuanfa Temple in Sanger. So, in Montana there was a bright rich purple color and an oval opening in the heavens. It was there whether I opened my eyes or shut them. I could see the opening right through the roof of the car, and I could see many ornately dressed sambhogakaya figures looking over the edge of the opening and down to where I was sitting. It was wonderful! Later I regretted that I did not ask if I could visit them.
When I returned home from this last leg of the Dharma Propagation Tour, I reported what had happened to my Buddha Master and was immediately blessed with a tummo initiation.
Footnotes
25 A kharta or khata is a gossamer thin silk scarf that is ceremoniously offered as a sign of respect in Tibet. Most of the books that were distributed were wrapped in a pure white kharta, which was then presented to the recipient when the books were delivered by hand. ↩
26 I think of the term “Mitakuye Oyasin,” a phrase meaning “all my relatives’ in the Lakota language used to reflect the world view of all living beings (not just humans) being interconnected. ↩
27 Dakinis are celestial wisdom beings who may either be a human being who has attained high realizations of the fully enlightened mind or a non-human manifestation of the enlightened mind of a meditational deity such as a female dharma protector. They are usually depicted as a wrathful or semi-wrathful form, but sometimes they appear as very beautiful women. ↩
28 Father Tiso published Liberation in One Lifetime: Biographies and Teachings of Milarepa in 2014 and Rainbow Body and Resurrection: Spiritual Attainment, the Dissolution of the Material Body, and the Case of Khenpo A Chö in 2016. ↩
29 After departing this world, the body of Lama Achuk shrunk from a height of almost six feet (1.8 meters) to about 18 inches tall, a sign of very high realization. From the time of Lama Achuk’s paranirvana to the cremation, many auspicious signs appeared, five colored rainbows were often sighted in the sky and five colored pure lights often appeared in the area surrounding Lama Achuk’s body. ↩
30 Yun Sculpture is a highly innovative form of art invented by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Disciples of the Buddha have offered a $12-million-dollar reward to anyone who could reproduce these masterpieces, but to date no one has come close. ↩
31 Now known as the World Buddhism Association Headquarters. ↩